Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 636 shares during the quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $166.01 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $171.15 and its 200 day moving average is $179.99. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.