Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.31 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 90.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,952 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,058 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,695,000 after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,416,000 after acquiring an additional 90,330 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in Zoetis by 546.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research raised their price target 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 raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $176.42 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.45. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a market cap of $79.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 32.33%.

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.