CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 949,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,376 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $156,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective 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 raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.55.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.