Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 254 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $19,819,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 275.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after purchasing an additional 70,476 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 25,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 8,302 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $688,000. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,501,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. BTIG Research raised 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $175.12 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The stock has a market cap of $79.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $187.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

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.