Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 6.1% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 364,411 shares valued at $59.93 million.
• Brokerage analysts have mixed ratings on Zoetis, with some cutting price targets, while others still hold a positive outlook, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $205.25.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly EPS of $1.76, exceeding expectations, alongside a 4.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.46 billion.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 364,411 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,917 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.08% of Zoetis worth $59,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm'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 value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ZTS traded up $2.61 on Wednesday, hitting $152.38. 3,331,019 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,811,839. The company has a market capitalization of $67.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.45. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

About Zoetis

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.