Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires 166 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 169 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $160.03 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $166.86 and a 200 day moving average of $176.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis 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.