Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Buys 42,258 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 105.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 82,298 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,258 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 91,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.8% during the third quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 41,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,159,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% in the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 276,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,093,000 after buying an additional 2,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $333,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $176.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.69. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.35.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.432 per share. 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 32.52%.

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.