Ancora Advisors LLC Buys 944 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,783 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $157.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.31 and a 200 day moving average of $167.22. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.40.

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.