Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 78,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,470,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth about $809,491,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 113.0% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,761,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,671,000 after buying an additional 1,995,491 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 85.9% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,578,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,619,000 after buying an additional 1,191,840 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Zoetis by 362.6% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,176,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,705,000 after acquiring an additional 922,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Zoetis by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,436,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,565,000 after acquiring an additional 917,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $125.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.25 and a 1-year high of $177.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.76.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. HSBC set a $140.00 price target on Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Zoetis from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.91.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.