Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,897 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Zoetis were worth $32,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $824,321,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock worth $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,688,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded up $3.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.23. 2,323,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,527,839. The company has a market cap of $74.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $156.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $212.75.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.