Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,543 shares during the quarter. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20,001 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 4,582.9% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 1,604 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Zoetis by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 90,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,663,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $321,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Zoetis by 24.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $157.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. 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’s 50-day moving average is $168.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.81. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.