Wealth Alliance Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wealth Alliance cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after acquiring an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3 %

Zoetis stock opened at $156.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.29. The firm has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

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.