Scotia Capital Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 16.7%, now owning 70,723 shares valued at approximately $11.65 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Zoetis, leading to a total ownership of 92.80% by such investors and hedge funds.
• Zoetis has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized dividend of $2.00 with a yield of 1.4%, following a positive earnings report for their last quarter.

Scotia Capital Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,723 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,199 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $11,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the fourth 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 position in Zoetis by 1.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.4% during the first quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $4.93 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $152.31. 6,269,265 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,305,504. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $158.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.26. The company has a market capitalization of $67.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler raised 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

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.