PGGM Investments Acquires 758 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

PGGM Investments lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,473 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $176,219,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Zoetis by 214.7% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 824,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,662,000 after buying an additional 562,259 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Zoetis by 27,671.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,605,000 after buying an additional 477,602 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 34.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,562,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,764,000 after buying an additional 403,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Zoetis by 53.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 941,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,753,000 after buying an additional 329,543 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $158.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.00. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.79 and a 200 day moving average of $179.33.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.33, for a total value of $159,983.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,725,267.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,209 shares of company stock valued at $371,293. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.