Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,865 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,173 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 79.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 87.6% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 141.4% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 614.6% in the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $152.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 34.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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.