BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 2,985 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,985 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth approximately $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $171.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $169.34 and a 200-day moving average of $179.28. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.