Marshall Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Marshall Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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 shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.0 %

Zoetis stock opened at $168.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $76.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $170.10 and a 200-day moving average of $179.66. 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 one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.