Gouws Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gouws Capital LLC cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,285 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 2.1% of Gouws Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $110,809,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $83,835,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $169.79 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.33. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $76.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.