Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 327,866 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,274,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 327,866 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $186,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 180.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 9.8% in the first quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth $120,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 336,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,345,000 after purchasing an additional 20,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $1,398,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $123.39 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.25 and a 52-week high of $177.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $128.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.66. The stock has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC set a $140.00 price objective on Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.18.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.