Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 11,512 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,812 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,512 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $11,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 2,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,654,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $152.86 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $177.35 and its 200 day moving average is $180.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The company has a market capitalization of $69.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.48 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.12%.

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.