Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Sells 4,540 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,320 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,540 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 496.6% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 201.5% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 69.1% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 56.8% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $124.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.49. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.25 and a 1 year high of $177.40. The stock has a market cap of $54.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

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

Zoetis Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $158.00 to $141.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.18.

About Zoetis

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.