Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 198,719 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,819,024 shares of the company's stock after selling 198,719 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.62% of Zoetis worth $459,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,617,000 after buying an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

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Zoetis Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $2.78 on Thursday, hitting $160.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,530,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,261. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. 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 $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.20 and a 200 day moving average of $173.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Sell-side analysts expect 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 issued 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 yield of 1.24%. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.