Marcum Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,386 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $244,000. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $167.23 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.16. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.89.

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.