Carnegie Investment Counsel Reduces Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Carnegie Investment Counsel lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 0.9% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $30,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,682,000 after buying an additional 1,904,899 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $210,815,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,334,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,960,912,000 after buying an additional 536,477 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 178.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 639,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,185,000 after buying an additional 409,522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $190.08 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $86.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.20.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis 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.