The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 6,990 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 455,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,990 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of Zoetis worth $89,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 546.3% in the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,899 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 41,235.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,652,000 after acquiring an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 7,608.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Zoetis by 56.2% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,946,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,407,000 after acquiring an additional 700,398 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $176.74 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.81.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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