Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 199,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,979 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $38,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 89.1% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the second quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.80. 589,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,570. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.58. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The firm has a market cap of $82.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.14%.

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.