Summit Global Investments Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Summit Global Investments lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $162.86 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.76 and a 200-day moving average of $175.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.