Financial Advocates Investment Management Raises Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 81.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,273 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy CG LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,400,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 12,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $501,000. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 28,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,613,000 after purchasing an additional 9,018 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $171.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.28. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.