Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $164.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.31.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS 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 issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.