Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $1.60 Million Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $809,491,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 113.0% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,761,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,671,000 after buying an additional 1,995,491 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 85.9% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,578,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,619,000 after buying an additional 1,191,840 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Zoetis by 362.6% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,176,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,705,000 after acquiring an additional 922,589 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Zoetis by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,436,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,565,000 after acquiring an additional 917,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.6%

ZTS opened at $125.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.76 and its 200-day moving average is $143.53. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.25 and a 1-year high of $177.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $55.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.18.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.