Corient Private Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,649,981 shares of the company’s stock after selling 119,086 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned about 0.37% of Zoetis worth $268,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Avalon Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 217.7% in the fourth quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 2,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $368,000. Choate Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 5,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.15. 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 earnings results 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 return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.