HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 106.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,001 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,908 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. grew its position in Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on 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 given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade 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 valued at $312,254 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $163.03 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.40 and its 200 day moving average is $174.44. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.