Legacy CG LLC Buys New Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Legacy CG LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,400,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Zoetis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after buying an additional 279,092 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $175.65 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.35.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. 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 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

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.