Impax Asset Management Group plc Trims Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,488 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Zoetis by 546.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,815,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after purchasing an additional 414,605 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $175.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $187.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.98. The stock has a market cap of $79.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

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.