Cove Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $647,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 80.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. 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 report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $166.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $74.90 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $170.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.91 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

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.