Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 110 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,809,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. 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 on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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 for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.40.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.58. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.