True North Advisors LLC Invests $3.05 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,049,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after buying an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,684,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $563,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Zoetis Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $166.64 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.60 and a 200-day moving average of $179.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.89. 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 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53.

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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 37.59%.

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.