Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Precedent Wealth Partners LLC

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,975 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $168.63 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The stock has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $170.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.66.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, 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 announced 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. 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 yield of 1.19%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set 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 issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.