Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $16.29 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,947 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,960 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,151,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,699,047 shares of the company's stock worth $279,748,000 after purchasing an additional 109,522 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,549 shares of the company's stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 59.1% in the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,423 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $1,479,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $159.19. 1,375,164 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,569,728. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.