Simmons Bank Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Simmons Bank decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% in 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 acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,815,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring 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 worth $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 414,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $177.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.32, 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 current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.04. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

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.