Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $110,809,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $167.23 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.16. 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 cap of $75.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 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 $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.