Weaver Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 45.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,226 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $172.24 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

Zoetis 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.