Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 95,529 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 801,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95,529 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $156,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Zoetis by 4.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $812,695,000 after purchasing an additional 178,303 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Zoetis by 2.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,050,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,416,000 after purchasing an additional 90,330 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 5.8% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,044,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,774,000 after purchasing an additional 166,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $175.14 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $187.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.44.

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.