M&G Plc Trims Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

M&G Plc decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 35.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,298 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $2,159,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Zoetis by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in Zoetis by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,374,000 after purchasing an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in Zoetis by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 594,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,331,000 after purchasing an additional 158,459 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $8,831,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.44.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.5 %

ZTS opened at $188.38 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $177.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.14%.

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.