Wallace Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Wallace Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Wallace Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $174.77 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company has a market capitalization of $78.85 billion, a PE ratio of 32.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $182.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.93.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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.