Gouws Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gouws Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,285 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 2.1% of Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. 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 company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $169.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $76.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.