Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 183.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 508 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Zoetis by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,915,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,052,000 after purchasing an additional 103,134 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 162,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,502,000 after buying an additional 21,357 shares in the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 37,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,126,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $172.61 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.59. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Company 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.