Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,689 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.0 %

ZTS opened at $166.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $170.93 and a 200-day moving average of $179.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 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 last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.