Zacks Investment Management Invests $15.75 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 80,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,754,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 167,808 shares of the company's stock worth $32,786,000 after acquiring an additional 51,030 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Zoetis by 23.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 429,649 shares of the company's stock worth $83,945,000 after purchasing an additional 80,304 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 600.3% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,504 shares of the company's stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 21,862 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.2% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 242,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,399,000 after purchasing an additional 12,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 410.6% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 178,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,698,000 after purchasing an additional 143,804 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $219.00.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.46. 2,551,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,907. The stock has a market cap of $79.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.07.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

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.