Baldwin Investment Management LLC Has $4.18 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Baldwin Investment Management LLC decreased its stock holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, now owning 25,360 shares valued at approximately $4.18 million.
• Zoetis recently faced downgrades from multiple brokerages, with UBS Group lowering its price target from $189.00 to $170.00 and other firms adjusting their ratings and price objectives.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which is set to be paid to stockholders on September 3rd, reflecting a 1.32% dividend yield.

Baldwin Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,360 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,585 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 0.5% of Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock worth $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment lifted its stake in Zoetis by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock worth $782,064,000 after acquiring an additional 325,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 7.6% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,408,542 shares of the company's stock worth $725,866,000 after acquiring an additional 312,746 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $1.75 on Thursday, reaching $147.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,131,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,040,810. The stock has a market cap of $65.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.91. 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 quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.72.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 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.