Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 171,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $33,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 102.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $146.50 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $175.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.15. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a market capitalization of $67.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.12%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last three months. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.