Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. Takes $916,000 Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. First Merchants Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 946.4% in the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 25,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,119,000 after purchasing an additional 22,865 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,589,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,981,000 after purchasing an additional 241,650 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 35,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 207,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $165.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.08 and its 200-day moving average is $179.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.00.

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.