Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.09.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

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.

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