Machina Capital S.A.S. Purchases 9,557 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,251 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,557 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 180.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 385.1% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 8,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after buying an additional 6,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $122.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.69. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.25 and a 1 year high of $177.40.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.45.

About Zoetis

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.