Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,610 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,251 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $34,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $739,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 14.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 10.9% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 30.6% during the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 8,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 7.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 387,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,442,000 after purchasing an additional 26,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, reaching $170.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,893,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,946,235. The firm has a market cap of $77.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $164.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.70. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. HSBC cut their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.75.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Zoetis

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.