Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 171,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $33,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $134,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.9% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 51,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,727,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 102.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $146.50 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.15. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.