Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 41,501 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Walter Public Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 44.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,501 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 496.6% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 201.5% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 69.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped 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. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price objective on Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.18.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ZTS opened at $125.70 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $123.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.97. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.25 and a 12-month high of $177.40.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 35.69%.

Zoetis Company 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.