NFJ Investment Group LLC Reduces Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,212 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up 1.0% of NFJ Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $29,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,699,000. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its stake in Zoetis by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 98,392 shares of the company's stock worth $16,031,000 after buying an additional 46,603 shares during the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 1,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $685,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 242,761 shares of the company's stock worth $39,553,000 after acquiring an additional 7,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.64. 4,239,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,552,396. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Company Profile

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.