In the world of finance, companies constantly make moves that indicate their confidence in various businesses. Recently, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. showed an 8.5% increase in its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) after acquiring an additional 79,655 shares during the fourth quarter of 2022. The firm currently holds 1,020,236 shares of Zoetis’ stock, representing about 0.22% of the company’s overall worth which is estimated to be $149,822,000 according to its Form 13F filing with the SEC.
As an American animal health company based in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, Zoetis is one of the leading forces responsible for developing and providing veterinary medicines and vaccines used for livestock and pets around the globe. With a diverse portfolio that includes more than 300 product lines across multiple species and therapeutic areas within animal health management, Zoetis has proven itself vital to communities worldwide.
Aside from this impressive feat from Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co., Zoetis announced plans to pay out a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 1st to shareholders of record following Friday, April 21st at a rate of $0.375 per share; notably equivalent to a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis accompanied by a dividend yield of about 0.85%. This contributes significantly to the company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR), currently positioned at around 33.33%.
It comes as no surprise that several research firms have predicted further growth and profitability for shares of Zoetis lately. Barclays increased their price target from $250 to $260 which was followed by StockNews.com initiating coverage on Zoetis with a “buy” rating for the company shortly after on Thursday, March 16th.
Finally yet crucially enough is Bank Of America’s (Bofa) boost of their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180 to $200 and granting the stock a spectacular “buy” rating in a recently released report on Tuesday, April 11th. These moves reflect just how much investors have faith in Zoetis as an integral player in the animal health space.
Based on data from Bloomberg, the stock has gained nine buy ratings with a consensus price target of $220.43 at the time of this writing; making it abundantly clear that Zoetis Inc. is a company to watch out for.
Zoetis Inc. Sees Increase in Institutional Investor Holdings and Steady Share Prices
Zoetis Inc., a global animal health company, has seen an increase in institutional investor holdings, with several companies purchasing additional shares in the company during the fourth quarter of 2022. Oppenheimer Asset Management increased its position in Zoetis by 15.3%, while Moors & Cabot raised its own stake by 3.6%. Country Club Bank and Cidel Asset Management also bought new positions worth $743,000 and $20,317,000 respectively. Similarly, United Super Pty Ltd purchased a new stake for $12,572,000. Combined, these purchases mean that institutional investors now own 90.23% of Zoetis’s stock.
Despite the investment influx from institutional investors, one of Zoetis’s executive vice presidents recently sold 4,338 shares of stock – around 0.12% – for a total value of $763,227.72 at an average price of $175.94 per share.
Zoetis also announced a quarterly dividend paid out on June 1st to shareholders recorded as owning shares as of April 21st – this amounted to $0.375 per share or an annualized rate of $1.50 per share at a dividend yield of 0.85%. This news did little to move Zoetis’s stock value which traded up only $2.69 at market close on Friday April 28th when it reached $176.64 per share.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) lists Zoetis under ticker symbol ZTS and trade analysts predict earnings per share will reach around $5.39 for the current year compared to last year’s EPS of $1.00 during the same period as noted in the company’s earnings release data released on September 14th and February 14th with profits meeting analyst estimates amongst others.
Zoetis is currently valued at approximately USD 81.85 billion, having hit a low of USD 124.15 and a high of USD 183.80 over the past year with PE ratio of 39.02 and an estimated PEG Ratio of 2.68 along with a Beta rate at 0.77 indicating lower volatility correlation to market trends than average in the industry. Overall it appears that Zoetis is performing well, steadily increasing share prices amongst heightened trades on the NYSE ZTS market since it’s last earnings release in February, maintaining investor interest atop its broad institutional holdings base from which we expect to see stronger revenue results heading into Q3 predictions so long as regulations towards veterinary supply chains brought upon by Covid19 disruptions begin to stabilize for global counterparts more beef exports as local demand rises globally for current fiscal year till date, according to regulatory filings data obtained from Bloomberg Terminal services available through authorized subscribership license agreements set forth by financial instrument brokerages and proprietary trading firms worldwide.
