Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 4,522 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 162,808 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,522 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $26,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $170.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.16. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $76.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

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.