The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 37,953 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 9.3%, selling 37,953 shares during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company worth $61.24 million.
• Zoetis reported $2.46 billion in revenue for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and earning $1.76 per share, which was $0.14 higher than the consensus estimate.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Polen Capital Management LLC, increased their stakes in Zoetis, indicating strong institutional interest with 92.80% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 371,957 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,953 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Zoetis worth $61,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,842,222,000 after acquiring an additional 189,287 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after buying an additional 1,313,653 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,071,032,000 after buying an additional 78,508 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,293,000 after buying an additional 109,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,408,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,866,000 after buying an additional 312,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $156.45 on Friday. 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 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $153.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.