Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Boosts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,552 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,340 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on 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 Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’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 value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $170.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.72 and a 200 day moving average of $176.83. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.