Salvus Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,177 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $518,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Zoetis by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 49,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,530,000 after purchasing an additional 5,384 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 30.4% in the second quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 12,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,091,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 129.5% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 23,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after acquiring an additional 13,103 shares during the period. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 14.4% during the second quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. now owns 540,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,752,000 after acquiring an additional 68,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 7,379.7% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 173,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,083,000 after acquiring an additional 171,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $169.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $171.25 and a 200 day moving average of $180.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.