Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 24.2%, selling 8,454 shares and retaining 26,438 shares worth approximately $4.35 million.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings of $1.76 EPS, exceeding analyst estimates and showcasing a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2% to $2.46 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 24.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,438 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,454 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.7% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 100.3% during the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,140,000 after purchasing an additional 198,089 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 31.2% during the first quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at about $380,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 117.6% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.15. 3,705,698 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,729,796. The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.20. The company has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

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.