Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stake Cut by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 31.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.6 %

ZTS stock opened at $171.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 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 has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.