Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 12,000 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101,811 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $16,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,864,488,000 after acquiring an additional 95,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 5.3% during the 3rd 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $160.39 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $166.51 and a 200-day moving average of $177.94. The company has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS 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 given a $0.50 dividend. 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 1.25%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

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.