Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Invests $213,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after acquiring an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth approximately $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $170.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.46. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis 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.