CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Acquires 14,571 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,175 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,571 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.10% of Zoetis worth $71,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,497,000 after purchasing an additional 351,372 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.4% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 29.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 7,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 801.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $148.64 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $139.70 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $66.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.28.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.