Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Trimmed by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.1%, selling 6,905 shares and bringing its total holdings to 35,855 shares valued at approximately $5.9 million.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $2.46 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%, with a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,855 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,905 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the company's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price target 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, Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.53. 106,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,102,402. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 34.42%.

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.