Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Boosts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,599 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.89.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $170.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.71. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $76.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.55% and a return on equity of 51.98%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.