Boston Family Office LLC Sells 6,365 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Boston Family Office LLC lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,365 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related 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 transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $164.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $166.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.