Covea Finance Has $40.34 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Covea Finance cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,875 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 1.8% of Covea Finance’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Covea Finance’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $40,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The firm has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.16.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. 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.