AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 8,663 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AMI Asset Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 331,126 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,663 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for approximately 3.2% of AMI Asset Management Corp's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Zoetis worth $54,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $196,651,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.8%

ZTS traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $156.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,122,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,569,289. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $160.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

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.