Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 538,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,451 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $87,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 7,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Zoetis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 212,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,556,000 after acquiring an additional 9,746 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $151.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was 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 sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company 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.