State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $25.07 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 9.3%, selling 15,579 shares, leaving it with 152,230 shares worth approximately $25 million.
• Zoetis has received mixed ratings from analysts, with some dropping their price targets while maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $202.43.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annualized payout of $2.00, yielding 1.3% for shareholders of record on July 18th.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,230 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,579 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Zoetis were worth $25,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 79.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 87.6% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 141.4% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 614.6% during the first quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2%

ZTS traded down $1.83 during trading on Monday, reaching $152.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,158,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,678,922. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $154.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.90. The company has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.