Cannell & Spears LLC Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Cannell & Spears LLC cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $161.77 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $72.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.