Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,712 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,081 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 worth $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock worth $289,666,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $196,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $159.19. 1,375,164 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,572,771. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

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.