JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279,092 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $569,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Zoetis Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $164.60 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.72. The company has a market cap of $74.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 2.91 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.22.

About Zoetis

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.