Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BOS Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 2,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, December 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $237.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders 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.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $168.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $186.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.34. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.03 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a market capitalization of $77.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

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.