Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the third 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. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,078,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 176.9% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 40,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,930,000 after purchasing an additional 25,931 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $161.77 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio 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.