Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 65.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,043 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 413 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 29.5% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 1,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Zoetis by 57.0% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 13,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 5,073 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 23.4% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,594,000 after purchasing an additional 20,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.1% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 92,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,032,000 after purchasing an additional 5,339 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.81 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.46.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

About Zoetis

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.