Klingman & Associates LLC Trims Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Klingman & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,363 shares of the company’s stock after selling 341 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,809,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $156.92 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.29 and a 200 day moving average of $178.29. The company has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis 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 value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

About Zoetis

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.