Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Buys 14,553 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,152 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,553 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $155.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,986,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,011,381. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $69.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.91%.

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.