PGGM Investments Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

PGGM Investments raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 91.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,528 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,005 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $9,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Callahan Advisors LLC raised its position 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 during the period. Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in Zoetis by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,617,000 after acquiring an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,904,000 after acquiring an additional 28,700 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Zoetis Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $161.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.44. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.