RFG Advisory LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

RFG Advisory LLC lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,886 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $307,000 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 company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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 began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.6 %

ZTS opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.71. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.