Choreo LLC Buys 9,018 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 46.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,408 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,018 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $1,764,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after buying an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,684,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $175.65 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.41 and its 200-day moving average is $179.35. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $200.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.