Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,757 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,411 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Zoetis were worth $31,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded down $4.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.27. 2,973,481 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,552,614. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $158.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.