Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 4,761 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,942 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,761 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $34,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 180.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Zoetis by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 419,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,354,000 after purchasing an additional 21,470 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,163 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $898,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.3%

ZTS opened at $157.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $70.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $159.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.06.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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