Groupama Asset Managment Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Groupama Asset Managment trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 65.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,502 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,093 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. OV Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 9,352 shares of the company's stock worth $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,457,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $723,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 25,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,073,000 after buying an additional 12,908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $3.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $148.09. 1,647,990 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,591,905. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.07 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $165.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.26. The stock has a market cap of $66.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis 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 transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.