Credit Agricole S A Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Credit Agricole S A lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 969,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107,615 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 0.5% of Credit Agricole S A’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Credit Agricole S A owned 0.22% of Zoetis worth $159,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 180.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 104,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,026,000 after buying an additional 59,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $178,688,000. Finally, Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 59,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,724,000 after buying an additional 25,856 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of ZTS opened at $152.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $154.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.