Forsta AP Fonden Sells 16,600 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Zoetis were worth $21,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company's stock worth $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $170.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,111,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,740,963. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $169.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.65. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.