Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,943 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 2.1% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE ZTS traded up $3.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $173.84. The company had a trading volume of 961,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,396. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.59. The company has a market capitalization of $78.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. 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 posted its quarterly 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. 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio 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.