Covea Finance Buys 49,000 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Covea Finance increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 256,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,000 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for approximately 2.2% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Covea Finance owned about 0.06% of Zoetis worth $50,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in Zoetis by 89.1% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 60.7% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted 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. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,819,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,754,904. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.45.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.91%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 33.86%.

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.