VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 71,200 Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 71,200 shares of Zoetis Inc. for approximately $11,104,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Zoetis recently reported earnings of $1.76 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a quarterly revenue of $2.46 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 1.4%, to be paid on December 2nd.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 71,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,104,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 96,171 shares of the company's stock worth $14,998,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,391 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares in the last quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in Zoetis by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 1,977 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 8,933 shares of the company's stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 241,167 shares of the company's stock worth $37,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $145.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.34 and a 1 year high of $193.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

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.

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