Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $79.55 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 407,142 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,751 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $79,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 1,387.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock traded up $2.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $176.82. 3,243,440 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,342,687. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is presently 32.33%.

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.