Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Increases Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $160.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.99.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.40.

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.