Willis Investment Counsel Invests $7.53 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Willis Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 46,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,532,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 29.5% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Zoetis by 57.0% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,423,000 after acquiring an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,594,000 after acquiring an additional 20,001 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 92,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,032,000 after purchasing an additional 5,339 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Zoetis Trading Down 1.1 %

ZTS opened at $170.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $169.62 and its 200 day moving average is $179.46. 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 earnings per share 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 business 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 company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.