Swedbank AB Acquires 103,134 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,915,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 103,134 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $312,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 162,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,502,000 after acquiring an additional 21,357 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 37,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,126,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.1 %

ZTS stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $170.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 153,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,880. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.65. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.