King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 261,559 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,554,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 261,559 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up about 1.1% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.34% of Zoetis worth $253,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 82.2% in the third quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $171.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.66. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.