PFG Investments LLC Purchases 115 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,265 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.33 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.65. The firm has a market cap of $76.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 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.