Fiduciary Alliance LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $166.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.