Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Purchased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,754 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,617 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Zoetis were worth $14,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Zoetis by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,726,075,000 after buying an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after buying an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock worth $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $1,047,052,000 after acquiring an additional 755,893 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ZTS opened at $161.33 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.05. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Zoetis from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.75.

About Zoetis

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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