Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 10,000 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,811 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $18,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ZTS. Holderness Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 4,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 914 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 206,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,019,000 after acquiring an additional 10,486 shares during the last quarter. S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,075,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,318,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,170,000 after acquiring an additional 106,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ZTS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $152.38 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.45.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

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.