HCR Wealth Advisors Sells 1,534 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

HCR Wealth Advisors decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,534 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors' holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company's stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.7% during the second quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $169.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,804,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,690,106. 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 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average is $171.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.07.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.