QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

QRG Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,125 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,395 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after buying an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth about $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock worth $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $196,651,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $164.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.07 and a 200 day moving average of $163.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.

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