Swedbank AB Purchases 103,134 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,915,250 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 103,134 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.42% of Zoetis worth $312,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third 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 position in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded down $1.90 on Friday, reaching $170.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,630,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,532. The company's fifty day moving average is $169.62 and its 200 day moving average is $179.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market cap of $77.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.