Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Buys 4,559 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 137.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $157.38 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

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.