Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Boosts Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 16.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 74,499 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,427 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 273.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.0 %

ZTS stock opened at $178.70 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.80 and a 52 week high of $201.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.31 and a 200 day moving average of $180.79.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

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.