Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,661,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203,555 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.59% of Zoetis worth $433,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $178,688,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $159.96 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $157.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.95.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.13.

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.