Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,476 shares during the quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Zoetis were worth $17,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $732,000. Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,323,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 34,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,618,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC now owns 130,727 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,299,000 after buying an additional 3,544 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 170,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,715,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $163.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.08. The company has a market capitalization of $72.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Zoetis's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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