Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,317 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,338 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $19,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,687,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,695,000 after buying an additional 178,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after buying an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Zoetis from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.70.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

ZTS opened at $178.18 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a current ratio of 3.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.25.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

Zoetis 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.