Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $196,651,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $161.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.82 and a 200-day moving average of $176.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.