Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 292,568 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 94.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 292,568 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’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 transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $160.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $71.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.79.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Profile

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.