Level Four Advisory Services LLC Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,202,000 after acquiring an additional 433,429 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following 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 link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.