USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 10,698 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,698 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted 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 upped their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.75.

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.