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

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 101,185 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,898 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $19,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Zoetis by 144.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.6% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.4% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 177,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,826,000 after purchasing an additional 5,764 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 666,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,919,000 after buying an additional 5,999 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.74, for a total value of $71,779.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,037,257.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $159.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 3.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.25% and a net margin of 27.43%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.432 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 34.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com cut Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $195.00 target price (down from $220.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $218.00.

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.