Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Farrow Financial Inc.

Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,227 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the quarter. Farrow Financial Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

ZTS opened at $170.34 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $166.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.78.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.