Avestar Capital LLC Buys 386 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,945 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 275.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after buying an additional 70,476 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,684,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at about $688,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 41.0% in the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,501,000 after purchasing an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Zoetis by 56.2% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,946,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,407,000 after purchasing an additional 700,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $175.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $184.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.84.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ZTS shares. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Company 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.