Board of the Pension Protection Fund Invests $228,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd 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 acquired a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $167.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $171.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.16. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.