AIA Group Ltd Sells 11,701 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 43.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,701 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $853,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth $7,103,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 14.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 67,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,427 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 16,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 43.7% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 40,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,877,000 after acquiring an additional 12,359 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC lowered their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.75.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total value of $139,529.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

ZTS traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $179.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,672,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,891,039. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $172.37 and its 200-day moving average is $177.38. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.86.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

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.