Seilern Investment Management Ltd Buys New Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Seilern Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 58,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,552,000. Zoetis accounts for about 0.5% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,774,000 after acquiring an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.0 %

ZTS stock opened at $166.01 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $170.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.98. 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 quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast 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 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

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.