Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 17,827 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,827 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $22,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after buying an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,809,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $161.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity

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

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.