Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $158.47 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 10.5%, now holding 962,494 shares, representing about 3.9% of its portfolio.
• In a recent earnings report, Zoetis posted an EPS of $1.48, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue rising 1.4% year-over-year to $2.22 billion.
• Zoetis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, which will be paid on September 3rd, reflecting a 1.32% yield and a payout ratio of 35.91%.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 962,494 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,371 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 3.9% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.22% of Zoetis worth $158,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after acquiring an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,064,000 after acquiring an additional 325,000 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 312,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $146.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,298,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,041,416. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.70 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $65.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.14 and its 200 day moving average is $160.72. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners cut Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.