Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,300 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 69.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after buying an additional 7,061 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,899,000 after acquiring an additional 12,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 320,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,378,000 after acquiring an additional 61,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $166.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $75.34 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $170.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Company 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.