Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Bought by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,034 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 384 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $7,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 7.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 93,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,308,000 after buying an additional 6,457 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $2,776,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 108,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,374,000 after buying an additional 12,537 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 183,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 24,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total transaction of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,037,257.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock worth $371,293. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down previously from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.38.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $165.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,080,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,177,335. The firm has a market cap of $75.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.86. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $201.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $168.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.38% and a return on equity of 50.34%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

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.