Ninety One UK Ltd Trims Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 35.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,097,830 shares of the company's stock after selling 591,061 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.25% of Zoetis worth $180,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 33,709 shares of the company's stock worth $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 6,672 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 100.3% in the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 395,626 shares of the company's stock worth $65,140,000 after purchasing an additional 198,089 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $380,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ZTS traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $156.40. 703,532 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,571,551. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $161.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.99. The company has a market capitalization of $69.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.91%.

Zoetis Company 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.