Atria Investments Inc Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 95,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during 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. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $169.79 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.06. The company has a market capitalization of $76.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’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 transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.