PFW Advisors LLC Invests $1.76 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Zoetis by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company's stock worth $569,834,000 after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,684,000. B&L Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $563,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $2.99 on Monday, reaching $166.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,306,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,057. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.29. The stock has a market cap of $75.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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 report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.89.

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.

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