Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 2,778 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,778 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,067,881,000. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,000,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 40,315,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,838,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,812 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 90.1% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,142,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,876,000 after acquiring an additional 541,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,994,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,879,289,000 after acquiring an additional 529,974 shares during the last quarter. 90.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, July 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $275.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Zoetis from $208.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.88.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $174.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.18 and a twelve month high of $249.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $171.80 and its 200-day moving average is $181.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.73.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 4th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.02). Zoetis had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 26.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 21st will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 20th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 29.82%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.31, for a total value of $301,085.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,786.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 2,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.26, for a total value of $390,623.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,269,818.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.31, for a total value of $301,085.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,100,786.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,356 shares of company stock valued at $3,250,158. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Zoetis

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Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.