Blue Trust Inc. Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,052 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after buying an additional 414,605 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,695,000 after buying an additional 178,303 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,416,000 after purchasing an additional 90,330 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $193.28 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $188.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.17. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.