Capital World Investors Sells 121,210 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Capital World Investors reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,562,769 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121,210 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,069,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.4% during 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 last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Zoetis by 801.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,635,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.3 %

Zoetis stock opened at $148.64 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.80.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now 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 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Company 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.