Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 150,093 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,975,997 shares of the company's stock after selling 150,093 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.43% of Zoetis worth $390,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 251.4% in the third quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 4,979 shares of the company's stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 51.4% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 321 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 7.5% in the third quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. HSBC lowered their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.04. 2,010,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,781,720. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $165.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS 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.