NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 30,212 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 181,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,212 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 1.0% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $29,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.4% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 29.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 801.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ZTS. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $149.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $66.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $161.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.