Yarbrough Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Yarbrough Capital LLC reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,945 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,322 shares during the period. Yarbrough Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% during 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $169.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $76.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $171.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.07.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.