Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third 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 period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.55.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share 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 given 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 1.23%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.