Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 185,364 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 185,364 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.31% of Zoetis worth $2,030,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% in the second 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. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lifted 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 worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.70.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $176.71 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The stock has a market cap of $79.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $181.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.12. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s 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.