Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $7.61 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1,282.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,944 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,126 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 9.8% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 275.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after purchasing an additional 70,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 21,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after buying an additional 6,780 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 23.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.9% during the second quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 8,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $175.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.83 and a 200-day moving average of $180.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.94, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders 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 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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.