Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Holdings Cut by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.6 %

ZTS stock opened at $171.37 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a market cap of $77.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.