Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,151 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 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 $167.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $75.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. 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 1.19%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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