Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Zoetis Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $175.65 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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 began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned 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 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.