Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New $898,000 Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $898,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,480 shares of the company's stock worth $16,899,000 after purchasing an additional 12,063 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 29.5% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 37.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 83,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,429,000 after acquiring an additional 22,683 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 26.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 278,016 shares of the company's stock worth $48,201,000 after acquiring an additional 57,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 32.8% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 35,192 shares of the company's stock worth $6,101,000 after acquiring an additional 8,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ZTS. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.92 on Friday, reaching $170.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,787,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,661. The company has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.54. 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 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio 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.