Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 3,402 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. by 13.9%, selling 3,402 shares and now owning 21,148 shares valued at approximately $3.48 million.
• Zoetis recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.76 per share, exceeding estimates and showing a 4.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.46 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.4%, set to be paid on September 3rd.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,148 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,402 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,571,930. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $148.11 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $157.14 and a 200-day moving average of $159.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 34.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.63.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ZTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.