Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,930 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 6.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 16.0% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 8,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at $19,819,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $172.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.02. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. The stock has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.432 dividend. 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 1.00%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.