Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $6.30 Million Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 18,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.58. The stock has a market cap of $73.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.53. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.40.

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.