YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 1,390 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,390 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 15,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 27,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.6 %

ZTS opened at $173.07 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.75. 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. The stock has a market cap of $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Company 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.