Commons Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Commons Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,892 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up approximately 1.0% of Commons Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Commons Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 9.5% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 40,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,999,000 after acquiring an additional 9,872 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 109,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on 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 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 research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $167.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.73 and a 200-day moving average of $179.95. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.