Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 855,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265,399 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.19% of Zoetis worth $139,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $166.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.19. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 presently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.