Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 556,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 227,447 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Zoetis worth $90,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Zoetis by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.42. 883,523 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,615,432. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $162.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.68. 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 $66.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

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.