Hartline Investment Corp Decreases Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Hartline Investment Corp decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,367 shares during the period. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,899 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at about $210,815,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 937,700 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after buying an additional 414,605 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $173.95 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $78.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.81 and a 200-day moving average of $180.04.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.