Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 377,333 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,078 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Zoetis worth $74,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 144.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 177,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,826,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $309,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 622,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,291,000 after acquiring an additional 10,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.13.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $9.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $168.08. 3,354,781 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,156,616. The stock has a market cap of $76.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

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.