Orser Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Orser Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up 0.9% of Orser Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Orser Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $167.23 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $171.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.16. The company has a market capitalization of $75.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89.

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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.