Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after buying an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,829,815 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 5.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Zoetis by 10.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.00.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.9 %

ZTS opened at $174.07 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $169.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.32. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 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 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

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.