Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Biondo Investment Advisors LLC

Biondo Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,792 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 383.1% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 67,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,191,000 after buying an additional 53,540 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 204,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,037,000 after buying an additional 16,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 19,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,790,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.