Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,865 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 89.1% in the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $187.99. The stock had a trading volume of 367,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,508,348. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.09 and a 200-day moving average of $177.34. The firm has a market cap of $85.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.14%.

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.