Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 41,016 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,016 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 0.13% of Zoetis worth $94,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,688,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Thursday, hitting $167.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,450,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,525,219. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $156.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.69. The stock has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

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.