Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc.

Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. 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 target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $173.07 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.