Bailard Inc. Sells 4,823 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bailard Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,823 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 23,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,804,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,293,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,709,000 after acquiring an additional 6,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Middleton & Co. Inc. MA increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 12,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,078,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ZTS. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.6 %

Zoetis stock opened at $167.58 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.30. The company has a market capitalization of $75.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Zoetis 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.