Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 11,512 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 57,812 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,512 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $11,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,457 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,776,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 60,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,976 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $152.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.48 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

Zoetis Company 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.