Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,366 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $170.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.74.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s 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.