Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 6.1%, now owning a total of 1,766,429 shares valued at approximately $290.84 million.
• Analyst ratings for Zoetis show a mixed outlook, with four analysts giving a hold rating, while others have assigned buy ratings or downgrades with target prices ranging from $155 to $210.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.76, surpassing analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share set to be distributed on September 3rd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,766,429 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 101,562 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.40% of Zoetis worth $290,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $339,111,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 4,158.3% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,824,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,481,000 after buying an additional 1,782,110 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 14,731.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,666,000 after buying an additional 1,747,423 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $178,688,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Zoetis by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after buying an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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 lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.63.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.34. 2,062,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,804,772. The stock has a market cap of $65.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.80.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's payout ratio is presently 34.42%.

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.