McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,108 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $343,000 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. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 37,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,126,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $368,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its position in Zoetis by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 11,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $76.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.65. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.