Versor Investments LP Boosts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,263 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after purchasing an additional 414,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 4.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,695,000 after acquiring an additional 178,303 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,416,000 after acquiring an additional 90,330 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $177.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.04. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a PE ratio of 33.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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