Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,599 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $75,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 214.7% in the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after purchasing an additional 562,259 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 27,671.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after purchasing an additional 477,602 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 34.8% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after purchasing an additional 403,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 53.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,753,000 after purchasing an additional 329,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $216.13.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $167.07 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.19, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.74% and a net margin of 27.38%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

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.