Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,464,000 after purchasing an additional 27,097 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,804,000 after purchasing an additional 196,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $745,861,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $150.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.74. The company has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.48 and a 12 month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $408,453 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on ZTS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.88.

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.