American Trust Sells 4,044 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

American Trust decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,044 shares during the quarter. American Trust's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.70.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock traded down $0.66 on Friday, reaching $178.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,650,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,532,163. 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 company has a market cap of $80.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.89. The business's fifty day moving average price is $180.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.12. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid 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 1.12%. This is a positive change from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 32.33%.

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.