Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Buys 167 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,643 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 105.5% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 371.4% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $3.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $149.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,140,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,039,154. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total transaction of $159,983.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. 0.15% 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.