Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Position Lessened by abrdn plc

abrdn plc lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,105,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,055 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $179,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 57.0% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,423,000 after buying an additional 5,073 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Zoetis by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,594,000 after buying an additional 20,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Zoetis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 92,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,032,000 after acquiring an additional 5,339 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $171.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.44.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.16%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.