Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stake Lifted by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,998 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for approximately 1.4% of Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $980,646,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Zoetis by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,716,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244,074 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,815,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,757,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 122.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,448,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,923,000 after purchasing an additional 797,884 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research upped 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $217.11.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.2 %

ZTS stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $183.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,588,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,759,420. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $83.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.20.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.14%.

Zoetis Company 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.