Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Buys New Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $165.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.87. The stock has a market cap of $73.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly 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. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.