Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $1.83 Million Investment in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,825,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 222.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Zoetis by 371.4% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $211.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $169.66 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $201.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.43. The company has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.04. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be paid a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.17, for a total transaction of $139,529.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,237,316. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Company 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.