Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 53,540 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 383.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,517 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,540 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $883,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 9.8% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Burney Co. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 10.1% during the first quarter. Burney Co. now owns 4,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.7% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 29,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $176.74 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.78.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. 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 note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.