Moors & Cabot Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $161.74 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.92 and a 200-day moving average of $176.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 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.