ICW Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,989 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $162.86 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.38. 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 market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.