Sone Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,323,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $162.10. 2,873,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,978. The company has a market cap of $72.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.05. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.91%.

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.