HB Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,867 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 5,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $7,372,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $166.01 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

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.