Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 63 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,297 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.0 %

ZTS stock opened at $166.01 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $170.93 and a 200 day moving average of $179.98. The firm has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

About Zoetis

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.