Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,401 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $898,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,353 shares of the company's stock worth $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,301 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Regatta Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $1,743,000. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 17,200 shares of the company's stock worth $2,803,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $172.61. 1,785,602 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,692,092. 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 company has a market cap of $77.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. The stock's 50 day moving average is $169.82 and its 200-day moving average is $179.59.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

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.