Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 46,052 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 565,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,052 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Zoetis worth $106,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.7% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 63,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,769,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 10,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 8.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $181.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $82.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $188.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.87.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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 objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

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.