Bristlecone Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 351 shares during the quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued 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 report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $171.37 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $169.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.22. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $77.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

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.