R Squared Ltd Invests $248,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.71. 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 quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.