Austin Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Austin Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 124,281.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,778,000 after buying an additional 2,330,285 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Zoetis by 171.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,326,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,335,000 after buying an additional 2,102,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $176,219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $408,453 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Thursday, December 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $237.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $224.33.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.4 %

Zoetis stock traded up $0.61 on Thursday, hitting $169.12. 3,395,584 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,739,733. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.03 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $77.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.24.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly 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). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid 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 1.02%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 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.