CCLA Investment Management Buys 135,630 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

CCLA Investment Management lifted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 758,335 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 135,630 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises approximately 2.0% of CCLA Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. CCLA Investment Management owned approximately 0.17% of Zoetis worth $123,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake 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 worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,809,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

ZTS stock opened at $164.31 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a market cap of $74.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.31 and a 200-day moving average of $180.16.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.