Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $157.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.14. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction 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 represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

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.