Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 925 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 30.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 925 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $156.92 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.29. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.