Leelyn Smith LLC Purchases 744 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Leelyn Smith LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,433 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 90.6% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 8,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 328.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 7,980 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % 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. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $165.39 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $166.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.97. The company has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.