Walter Public Investments Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 42.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,265 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,203 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for approximately 2.9% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after acquiring an additional 414,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 4.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,416,000 after acquiring an additional 90,330 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 5.8% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,774,000 after acquiring an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Zoetis by 546.3% in the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $3.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $191.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,618,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.45. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.70. The stock has a market cap of $87.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.29% and a return on equity of 50.67%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Zoetis's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.