Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,677 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % 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 Zoetis 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 directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $149.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $165.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $143.85 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Zoetis 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.