Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,021 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company's stock worth $569,834,000 after buying an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Zoetis by 38.3% during 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 in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.2 %

Zoetis stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,696,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,685,644. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $169.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.39.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the company 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.