HCR Wealth Advisors Lowers Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

HCR Wealth Advisors reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,534 shares during the quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after buying an additional 824,843 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $167.23 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. The stock has a market cap of $75.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.16.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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.