Modern Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,536 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after buying an additional 46,050 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.02. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.