Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing 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 institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in 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 period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 41,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 939,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,652,000 after purchasing an additional 937,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $110,809,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

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.