Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 199,586 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $32,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $172.61 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.59. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $77.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Zoetis Company 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.