King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 261,559 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,554,390 shares of the company's stock after selling 261,559 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises approximately 1.1% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.34% of Zoetis worth $253,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.90.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS traded down $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $162.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,485,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,167. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.94 and a 200-day moving average of $176.55. 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 cap of $72.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis Company 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.