Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,963 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,109 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $11,684,000. B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $563,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in Zoetis by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 74,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,556,000 after purchasing an additional 10,427 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 120,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,505,000 after buying an additional 18,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 947.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 180,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,360,000 after buying an additional 163,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $178.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $180.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.32. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $216.70.

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.