89,239 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 89,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,540,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $3.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,656,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,868,866. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $171.15 and a 200-day moving average of $179.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. 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 dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis's payout ratio 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.