Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 65.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,159 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,608 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company's stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,036,000 after acquiring an additional 6,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $2.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.78. 2,389,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,566,944. The firm has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $214.40.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.