William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 84.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 228,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,284,619 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $37,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 71,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,610,000 after buying an additional 9,574 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Zoetis by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 5,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Zoetis by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 9,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 26,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,267,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.82 and a 200 day moving average of $175.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

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.