Sarasin & Partners LLP Purchases 1,904,899 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 546.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for approximately 3.5% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $390,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 89.1% during the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.11.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.71. 1,588,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,759,420. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The company has a market cap of $83.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $177.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.29% and a return on equity of 50.67%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.