Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 141.4% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 614.6% in the 1st quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $159.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $70.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.32.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 55.48% and a net margin of 27.12%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.91%.

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.