GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 3,165 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,165 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.22.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.4 %

ZTS traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,206,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,219,581. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.39. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The company has a market capitalization of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.