EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 237.3% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis 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.