Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,387 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1,387.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $174.07 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $169.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.32. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

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.