Montag & Caldwell LLC Sells 9,720 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Montag & Caldwell LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,823 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,720 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 3.8% of Montag & Caldwell LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Montag & Caldwell LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $17,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company's stock worth $906,202,000 after buying an additional 433,429 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $148.64. 4,239,788 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,631. The stock 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 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $160.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.80.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.40.

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.