Bay Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,993 Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in Zoetis by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.90.

Remove Ads

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $163.03. 1,550,283 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,595,079. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $166.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.55. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued 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 1.23%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.