Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,570 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $30,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 16.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 925,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,796,000 after acquiring an additional 130,935 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 329,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,352,000 after purchasing an additional 7,031 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,426,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 86,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,952,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $189.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.34. The company has a market capitalization of $86.45 billion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.14%.

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.