JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 279,092 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 279,092 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.65% of Zoetis worth $569,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $164.60 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.72 and a 200 day moving average of $180.72.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. 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 is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.22.

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.