Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,033 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $39,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $157.54 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $168.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.98. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

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.