Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 4,956 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Legato Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,956 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.00.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.9 %

ZTS stock opened at $165.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $169.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.08. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.