EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 237.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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 boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.