OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,756 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 13,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 24,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Summa Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. Summa Corp. now owns 1,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $170.33 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’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 year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.