M&T Bank Corp Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

M&T Bank Corp decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 297,635 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,434 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Zoetis worth $58,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $11,684,000. B&L Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $563,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 74,499 shares of the company's stock worth $14,556,000 after purchasing an additional 10,427 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 120,303 shares of the company's stock worth $23,505,000 after purchasing an additional 18,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Zoetis by 947.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 180,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,360,000 after purchasing an additional 163,700 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $164.84 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.10.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.22.

About Zoetis

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.