Avanza Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,875 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,373 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after buying an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth 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. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,047,052,000 after buying an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other 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 transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, reaching $166.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,473,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,547,541. 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 has a market capitalization of $74.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.14. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Zoetis 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.