M&T Bank Corp Sells 36,434 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,434 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $58,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,809,000. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,965,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,746,000 after purchasing an additional 395,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.22.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

Zoetis stock opened at $164.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.10. The company has a market cap of $74.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.