Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 714 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 152,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,859,000 after buying an additional 34,359 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 8.5% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,932,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 1,182.5% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 24,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,821,000 after acquiring an additional 22,752 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $163.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.70 and a 200-day moving average of $175.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.