Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,822 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,359 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $29,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth $1,710,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 33.3% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 12,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,658,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $883,000. Finally, In Depth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. In Depth Partners LLC now owns 69,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,792,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $176.96 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.72. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a market capitalization of $79.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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