Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 760.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,766 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,283 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Scott & Selber Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.6% in the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 11,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Moment Partners LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC set a $140.00 target price on Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.18.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $124.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.04. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.25 and a 12 month high of $177.40.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.19% and a net margin of 28.21%.Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.67%.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.