Covea Finance Has $40.34 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Covea Finance decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,875 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 1.8% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.05% of Zoetis worth $40,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $171.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $74.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

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.