Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Decreases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,145 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment 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 MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $3.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.34. 3,296,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,274,650. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $166.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.