Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,217 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $37,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. HSBC decreased their target price on Zoetis from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Zoetis from $223.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Zoetis from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $212.67.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE ZTS traded up $2.01 on Monday, hitting $181.85. 816,496 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,812,894. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $174.51 and a 200 day moving average of $176.00. The company has a market capitalization of $82.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.86. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 50.34% and a net margin of 27.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 18th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 33.14%.

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.