SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 140,564 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 91.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,842 shares of the company's stock after selling 140,564 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company's stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 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, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $4.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $173.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,404,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,289. 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 $78.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day moving average is $170.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 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 1.16%. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.