Mizuho Securities USA LLC Reduces Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,807 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,899 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at about $210,815,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after buying an additional 937,700 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,874,000 after acquiring an additional 824,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Zoetis by 178.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 639,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,185,000 after acquiring an additional 409,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Ten investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $176.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.90 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.