CCLA Investment Management Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

CCLA Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 758,335 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 135,630 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises 2.0% of CCLA Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. CCLA Investment Management owned about 0.17% of Zoetis worth $123,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company's stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 3.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $2.62 on Wednesday, reaching $167.03. 497,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,391,055. The company has a 50 day moving average of $171.31 and a 200 day moving average of $180.16. 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 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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%. Zoetis's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis's 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.