Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 203,555 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,661,639 shares of the company's stock after selling 203,555 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.59% of Zoetis worth $433,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after purchasing an additional 190,137 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after purchasing an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group decreased 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. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.75.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $163.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,360,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,080,181. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.70 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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.