Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 19.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,621 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,837 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Zoetis Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE ZTS opened at $127.10 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $115.25 and a one year high of $177.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.59 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 the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 33.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Barclays assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. HSBC set a $140.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.18.

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.