Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 90.4% in the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in 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 during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,764,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.40.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $168.60 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $166.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.66. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced 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 net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.