Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 538,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,451 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.12% of Zoetis worth $87,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.9 %

ZTS stock opened at $151.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.