Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 3,397 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,397 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Evermay Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 439.3% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 430.8% during the first quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 138 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 105.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.33.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.7 %

Zoetis stock opened at $168.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.03 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $186.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.34.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.43% and a return on equity of 51.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,725,267.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.