Freedom Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,699 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% during the 2nd 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. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $176.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.81. The company has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 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.