Wedmont Private Capital Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wedmont Private Capital cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,441 shares of the company’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after buying an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $167.23 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.31 and a 200 day moving average of $180.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.45 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis 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.