Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,753 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,061 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 106,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,340,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $400,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,398,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,823,000 after buying an additional 21,314 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 26,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,241,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $156.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. 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 fifty day moving average price is $167.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.29.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

About Zoetis

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.