Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Holdings Increased by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 138.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,838 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,377 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 546.3% during the second quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,253,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,904,899 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $210,815,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 7,608.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 835,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,874,000 after purchasing an additional 824,843 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,749,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,895,235,000 after buying an additional 414,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 178.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 639,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,185,000 after buying an additional 409,522 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $195.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 287,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,528,534. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 3.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.67% and a net margin of 26.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

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.