Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Stonegate Investment Group LLC

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,721 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.04 and a 200-day moving average of $179.71. The company has a market cap of $76.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.