Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 64.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,557 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 18.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.5% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.3 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $73.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.55.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Company 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.