Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 823 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 823 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd 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 lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

ZTS opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $171.31 and a 200-day moving average of $180.16. 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 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.