Albion Financial Group UT Sells 1,335 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Albion Financial Group UT lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased 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 valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Zoetis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $166.64 on Thursday. The stock 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. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $170.60 and its 200-day moving average is $179.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Zoetis 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.