Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,394,355 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,448 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.75% of Zoetis worth $553,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company's stock worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 103,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in Zoetis by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 933,399 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,367,000 after acquiring an additional 96,539 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ZTS. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $3.09 on Friday, reaching $170.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,296,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,274,650. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.72 and a 200 day moving average of $176.83. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.