Assetmark Inc. Sells 97,360 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Assetmark Inc. decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,943 shares of the company's stock after selling 97,360 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,835,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ZTS traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,296,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,274,650. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $76.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $166.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.90.

About Zoetis

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.