National Bank of Canada FI Sells 120,524 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,524 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $50,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew its stake in Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $161.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $72.44 billion, a PE ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.05. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Research analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.