Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 206,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,047 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $40,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter worth $31,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 273.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $219.00.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $178.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.69, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $201.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $181.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.12.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 51.98% and a net margin of 26.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.432 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

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.