Meridian Wealth Management LLC Acquires 159 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,645 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,835,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $166.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.