Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 44,010 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,010 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $167.26 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.61 and a 200-day moving average of $176.92.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis 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.