Chicago Capital LLC Buys 723 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 323,234 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 1.4% of Chicago Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $52,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at $110,809,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $170.81 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The firm has a market cap of $77.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

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. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

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.