Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Increased by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,043 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Zoetis by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 3.1 %

ZTS stock opened at $165.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.78. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.40.

About Zoetis

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.