Martin Currie Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Martin Currie Ltd. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 297,442 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111,209 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 1.8% of Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Martin Currie Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Zoetis worth $48,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $824,321,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,355,000 after buying an additional 867,993 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in 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. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.55. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS 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 is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.