Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stake Increased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,691 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $21,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,235,000 after acquiring an additional 414,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,695,000 after buying an additional 178,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,416,000 after acquiring an additional 90,330 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $174.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $187.61 and a 200-day moving average of $180.02.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.