First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 969 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 969 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $168.63 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $170.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

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.