Sargent Investment Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sargent Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,491 shares of the company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% during 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 period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $172.24 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.48 and its 200 day moving average is $179.39. The stock has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

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.