Thomasville National Bank Has $12.91 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,214 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $1.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $165.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 744,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,267,707. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.29. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.