Zhang Financial LLC Sells 2,137 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Zhang Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,239 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,137 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.0 %

ZTS opened at $166.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 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 twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.93 and a 200-day moving average of $179.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

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.