Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,398 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $166.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.