Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,826 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 5.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,221,000 after purchasing an additional 194,542 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

Zoetis Price Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $163.76 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $166.81 and a 200-day moving average of $175.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.56%.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, 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 transaction of $55,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.