Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 10.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $157.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.78. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

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.