Utah Retirement Systems Has $12.35 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,795 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Zoetis by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. VeraBank N.A. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $156.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.90. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92.

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. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $214.40.

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.