Waverton Investment Management Ltd Acquires 6,780 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 312,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,780 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for about 1.0% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned 0.07% of Zoetis worth $61,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1,387.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.4 %

ZTS stock opened at $176.16 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.77. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $79.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.