Bellevue Group AG Cuts Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bellevue Group AG decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,790 shares of the company’s stock after selling 672 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $3,137,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 198,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,141,000 after buying an additional 43,227 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 40,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,932,000 after buying an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Finally, Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,187,000 after buying an additional 4,643 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $178.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

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.