Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Buys New Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew 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 buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its stake 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 increased its position in Zoetis by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $170.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $169.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.46. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.