Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 4,173 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 7.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 4,173 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $10 million.
• Zoetis reported $1.76 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue reaching $2.46 billion, marking a 4.2% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 1.3% yield, with the dividend payout ratio standing at 34.42%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,865 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,173 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,842,222,000 after acquiring an additional 189,287 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313,653 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,426,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,293,000 after acquiring an additional 109,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unisphere Establishment increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,064,000 after acquiring an additional 325,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $154.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,705,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,729,796. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $154.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.20. 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 one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $68.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88.

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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares in the company, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.