CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 949,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,376 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned about 0.21% of Zoetis worth $156,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.40 and its 200 day moving average is $174.55. The company has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.