Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $670,000. Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,879,000. Morton Community Bank increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 16,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Zoetis by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 75,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $161.74 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.92 and a 200-day moving average of $176.44. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.