Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Lowered by Wealth Alliance

Wealth Alliance lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 430.8% in the 1st quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 439.3% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of ZTS traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.07. 3,240,979 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,933,993. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.48 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $179.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.74. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 33.93%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $408,453. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. 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 note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.75.

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.