Blair William & Co. IL Sells 347,906 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 15.5%, now owning $311.56 million, which represents 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.48 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $2.22 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which will be paid on September 3rd, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%.

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,892,280 shares of the company's stock after selling 347,906 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 0.9% of Blair William & Co. IL's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.42% of Zoetis worth $311,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% during the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded 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. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $5.58 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.23. 2,456,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,077,061. The company has a market cap of $65.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.26. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.