Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 172,111 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,227 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $28,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $168.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $170.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a PE 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 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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