Bath Savings Trust Co Sells 5,519 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bath Savings Trust Co decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,519 shares during the quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE:ZTS traded down $3.60 on Tuesday, reaching $162.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,211,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,084,593. The company has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.47.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

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.