Veritas Asset Management LLP Has $321.41 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Veritas Asset Management LLP trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,972,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 324,842 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 3.0% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Veritas Asset Management LLP owned approximately 0.44% of Zoetis worth $321,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,594,000 after purchasing an additional 20,001 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after buying an additional 883 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Zoetis by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 61,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,011,000 after buying an additional 13,699 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 20.6% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,163,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.40.

Zoetis Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $165.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.30 and a 200 day moving average of $177.78.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade 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 this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.