Kovack Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,895,235,000 after purchasing an additional 414,605 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,695,000 after buying an additional 178,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,416,000 after buying an additional 90,330 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,774,000 after buying an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after acquiring an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $175.12 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $79.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

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.