Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises approximately 1.6% of Tufton Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.95 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $73.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.25 and a 200-day moving average of $177.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Zoetis Company 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.