Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,108 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $28,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.55. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis 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.