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

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,110,104 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 197,240 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for about 3.1% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.25% of Zoetis worth $216,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lifted its position in Zoetis by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 11,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.14. 3,426,474 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,672,116. The company has a market capitalization of $79.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.90. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

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.