Jacobs & Co. CA Raises Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Jacobs & Co. CA increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 95,441 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for 1.6% of Jacobs & Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in 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, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE ZTS traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $163.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,693,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,081. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $172.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $73.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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