Morton Community Bank Invests $3.12 Million in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Morton Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,124,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.7% during the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 5,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $2,078,000. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $175.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $79.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

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.