Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,326 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,491 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,326 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th 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. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight 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 a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $164.36. 2,472,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,552,296. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.75. The company has a market cap of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% 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.