Signaturefd LLC Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Signaturefd LLC lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted 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 worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 8,058 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 328.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 7,980 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group started 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $164.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.84.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business 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%. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % 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 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.