Clarius Group LLC Sells 581 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Clarius Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 581 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,235,000 after purchasing an additional 414,605 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,064,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,788,988,000 after purchasing an additional 57,798 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $980,646,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,509,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,069,000 after acquiring an additional 151,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.50. 186,552 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,779,668. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.51. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.29% and a return on equity of 50.47%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 33.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, July 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.89.

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.