Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 16.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,499 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,427 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Zoetis by 275.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 96,085 shares of the company's stock worth $16,259,000 after acquiring an additional 70,476 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,684,000. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter worth about $688,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. grew its stake in Zoetis by 41.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. now owns 37,500 shares of the company's stock worth $6,501,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 56.2% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,946,277 shares of the company's stock worth $337,407,000 after purchasing an additional 700,398 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $221.44.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:ZTS traded down $3.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $175.53. 848,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,543,411. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.19 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.432 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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.