Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Trimmed by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 608,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,433 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $99,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $156.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.29. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

About Zoetis

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.