Wealth Alliance Has $2.32 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wealth Alliance reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,344,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,730,000 after acquiring an additional 297,044 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,593,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,796,694 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,464,000 after acquiring an additional 27,097 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,143,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,804,000 after acquiring an additional 196,771 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $745,861,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $4.30 on Tuesday, reaching $154.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,240,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,993. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 3.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $148.48 and a one year high of $201.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $179.11 and its 200 day moving average is $180.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.