Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Zoetis stock opened at $163.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.77 and a 200 day moving average of $175.67.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Company 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.