Rise Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Rise Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Rise Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.2 %

Zoetis stock traded down $3.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.30. 1,211,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,593. The firm has a market cap of $73.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.47. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.