Milestone Resources Group Ltd Sells 994 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Milestone Resources Group Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 608,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 3.3% of Milestone Resources Group Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Milestone Resources Group Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $99,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Zoetis by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after buying an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $164.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $73.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.84. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.22%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.