Howard Capital Management Group LLC Acquires 883 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,866 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $210,815,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% in 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,235,000 after purchasing an additional 414,605 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew 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 purchasing an additional 409,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $191.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $87.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.82 and a 200 day moving average of $176.80. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.14%.

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.