Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Lowers Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,892 shares of the company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $164.95 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. 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 50 day moving average price of $166.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.49. The company has a market cap of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.