Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,619 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares in the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $548,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, 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 for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.