Xponance Inc. Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Zoetis by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 27,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,371,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 15,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,963,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Tilt Investment Management Holdings PBC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $369,000. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Zoetis by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,374,000 after buying an additional 12,537 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One North America Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 36,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,298,000 after buying an additional 5,201 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $153.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,729,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,988,847. The stock has a market cap of $70.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $177.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.39. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.48 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

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.