Alerus Financial NA Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Alerus Financial NA lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,776 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $165.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.46 and a 200-day moving average of $174.87. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.