Ritholtz Wealth Management Trims Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,662 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $11,684,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $563,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.0 %

ZTS opened at $166.01 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.99. The company has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

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.