Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Aureus Asset Management LLC

Aureus Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 13.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 5,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $176.81 on Tuesday. 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 $79.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research upped their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $220.80.

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.