Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 10,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in Zoetis by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 79,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $663,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 97,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,938,000 after buying an additional 5,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began 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 raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $166.31 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $171.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.22. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

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.