Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 801.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,606 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9 %

Zoetis stock opened at $178.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $80.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. 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 Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $216.70.

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.