Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,920 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,421 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Zoetis were worth $40,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $175.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,543,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,545,743. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $183.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.84. 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 company has a market cap of $79.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 32.52%.

About Zoetis

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.