FourThought Financial Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,249 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 131 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $165.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $74.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $166.30 and a 200-day moving average of $177.78. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.