The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 6,990 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 455,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,990 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $89,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $11,880,000. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,622,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 237.3% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 133,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,008,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ZTS opened at $176.74 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.81. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

About Zoetis

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.