Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 823 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Meyer Handelman Co. cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 823 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the second quarter worth approximately $474,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,165,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,548,000 after acquiring an additional 294,326 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,550,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 99,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,286,000 after purchasing an additional 20,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,584,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The company has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $171.31 and its 200 day moving average is $180.16.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.