Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 198,719 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,819,024 shares of the company’s stock after selling 198,719 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $459,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.55. The firm has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Zoetis Company 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.