Albion Financial Group UT Has $75,000 Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Albion Financial Group UT decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 74.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,335 shares during the quarter. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% during 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 owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented 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 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $166.64 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 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.