Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 154,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 871 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $25,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Zoetis by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.02.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped 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. 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.