Novare Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Novare Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,883 shares during the period. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners initiated 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $168.63 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.66. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.