Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,387 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,304 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Zoetis were worth $18,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company's stock valued at $812,695,000 after acquiring an additional 178,303 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,416,000 after purchasing an additional 90,330 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company's stock worth $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company's stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.1 %

ZTS opened at $175.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.47. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $221.44.

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.