Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,110,104 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197,240 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for approximately 3.1% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $216,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 16.0% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 16.0% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter worth about $19,819,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 94.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after acquiring an additional 414,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.3 %

ZTS stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $175.14. 3,426,474 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,672,116. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.08. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

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.