Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 68,249 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,664,867 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,249 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.37% of Zoetis worth $271,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in 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 position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in 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 last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8 %

ZTS opened at $162.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

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.