Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1,076.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 97,395 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,114 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company's stock worth $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,874,000 after buying an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,809,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. 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 report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.93. 2,353,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,344,292. The company has a market cap of $74.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.20. 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 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Zoetis 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.