Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Holdings Cut by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,438 shares of the company’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $21,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. VeraBank N.A. grew 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $166.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $74.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $166.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.99.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during 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%. Equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Leerink Partnrs raised Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.