GoalVest Advisory LLC Has $44,000 Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GoalVest Advisory LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 40.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $166.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $75.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $170.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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