Arizona State Retirement System Has $22.27 Million Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,232 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Zoetis were worth $22,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Zoetis by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after purchasing an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth about $339,111,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 14,731.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,759,285 shares of the company's stock worth $289,666,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747,423 shares during the period. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $1.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,961,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.74. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.70 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $161.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.69. The company has a market cap of $67.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 55.48%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.