The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,661 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Zoetis worth $66,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company's stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company's stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company's stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 801.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.43. 2,654,708 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,466,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $158.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.41. The firm has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

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.