Consolidated Investment Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Consolidated Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,200 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Consolidated Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 69.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 7,061 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 14.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,899,000 after acquiring an additional 12,063 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,536,000. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its stake in Zoetis by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $168.63 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The firm has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.66. 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 posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

Zoetis 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.