Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 2,066 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in Zoetis by 546.3% in the second 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,946,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,407,000 after purchasing an additional 700,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $175.25 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.92. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share 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 issued 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 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.