Swiss National Bank Sells 46,900 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,439,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $284,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 42.1% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.13.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $167.07. 2,977,172 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,178,449. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $76.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 34.12%.

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.