Hikari Tsushin Inc. Purchases 33,950 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Hikari Tsushin Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 450.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,494 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,950 shares during the period. Zoetis accounts for 0.4% of Hikari Tsushin Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Hikari Tsushin Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,306,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,190,326,000 after purchasing an additional 419,777 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,081,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,721,356,000 after buying an additional 95,294 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the second quarter valued at about $809,491,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 5.7% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,659,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,629,000 after acquiring an additional 250,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14.6% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,046,000 after acquiring an additional 550,859 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $129.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.25 and a 12-month high of $177.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.96.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.24% and a return on equity of 62.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.91.

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.