California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 15,732 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,354,151 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,732 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $220,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $163.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.44.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

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.