EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 3.0% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 191,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,339,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

Zoetis stock opened at $161.33 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.15. 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 $72.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.