Stephens Inc. AR Has $9.45 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $9,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Zoetis by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP grew its position in Zoetis by 2.8% in the second quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.8 %

ZTS opened at $181.95 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $188.97 and its 200 day moving average is $178.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.86%.

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.