Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Boosts Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,641 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $164.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,033,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,614. The stock has a market cap of $74.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.20. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company 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 company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.