William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 1,284,619 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 84.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,284,619 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Zoetis worth $37,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 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.