Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Grows Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 524,035 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,677 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.12% of Zoetis worth $90,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.34 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $166.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.