Signaturefd LLC Sells 433 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Signaturefd LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 90.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 328.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 7,980 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. UBS Group began 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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 raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $164.28 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.84. The stock has a market cap of $73.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.