Premier Fund Managers Ltd Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,258 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake 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 worth $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after buying an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $210,815,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $175.57 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $186.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.51. The company has a market capitalization of $79.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.