Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $1.50 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,501,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $166.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $170.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.