Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Gries Financial LLC

Gries Financial LLC grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,918 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.1 %

Zoetis stock opened at $170.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company has a market capitalization of $76.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.65. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

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.