Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,677 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1,387.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $176.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The company has a market capitalization of $79.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.93.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.33%.

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.