Natixis Advisors LLC Has $139.45 Million Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 855,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265,399 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $139,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $161.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.19. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.