Modern Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,202,000 after acquiring an additional 433,429 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Zoetis stock opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $166.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 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 payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Company 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.