Union Savings Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Union Savings Bank reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 847 shares during the quarter. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 32.4% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 40,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 401,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,633,000 after purchasing an additional 31,600 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 171,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,309 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $166.01 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ZTS. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

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.