Asset Dedication LLC Trims Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Asset Dedication LLC cut its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 76.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 302 shares of the company’s stock after selling 994 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $172.61 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.59. The company has a market capitalization of $77.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve 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 announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

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.