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

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,826 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after buying an additional 867,993 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 296.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after acquiring an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $163.76 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % 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. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.