Bensler LLC Sells 344 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Bensler LLC cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 67,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,427 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 26.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Lipe & Dalton grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 23.4% in the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 5,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 39,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,749,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $174.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.46 and a 200 day moving average of $179.17. The stock has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.