TCW Group Inc. Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 6.0%, now holding 538,739 shares valued at approximately $88.7 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have made significant adjustments to their positions in Zoetis, with Bfsg LLC increasing its stake by 614.6% during the first quarter.
• Zoetis recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, reflecting a yield of 1.32%, which will be paid on September 3rd.

TCW Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 538,739 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,312 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Zoetis worth $88,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.90 during trading on Thursday, hitting $146.91. 2,298,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,041,416. The company has a market cap of $65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $159.14 and a 200 day moving average of $160.72. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

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.