Gries Financial LLC Buys 116 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Gries Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,918 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $170.33 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $169.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.65. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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 return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.