LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 45.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,672,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,229,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.06. The company has a market capitalization of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.90.

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.