Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,250 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 34,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,606,000 after purchasing an additional 9,471 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Zoetis by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 261,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,648,000 after purchasing an additional 66,496 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 6,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 215,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.67. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 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.