Hilltop Holdings Inc. Acquires 36,126 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1,282.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,126 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 9.8% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Zoetis by 275.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,259,000 after buying an additional 70,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 21,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,780 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 23.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.9% during the second quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 8,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.80.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $175.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $183.83 and a 200-day moving average of $180.97. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.27. The company has a market cap of $79.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.89.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Zoetis Company Profile

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.