Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,003 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $170.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.83. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

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.