Ninety One UK Ltd Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,688,891 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,314 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.37% of Zoetis worth $275,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock worth $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $3.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,084,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,659,528. The stock has a market cap of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.35. 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 (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 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.