Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,423,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $458,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 15.4% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,107,000 after acquiring an additional 6,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $162.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.47.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid 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 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.