Blair William & Co. IL Sells 127,391 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,240,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,391 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for about 1.1% of Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Blair William & Co. IL owned approximately 0.50% of Zoetis worth $364,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after acquiring an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

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 value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $162.56 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $72.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

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.