Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 637 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 97,680 shares of the company’s stock after selling 637 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $15,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,779,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,864,488,000 after acquiring an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,813,000 after acquiring an additional 185,364 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13,726.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,865,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,524,000 after buying an additional 4,829,815 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 5.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,896,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,221,000 after acquiring an additional 194,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Zoetis by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,916,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,834,000 after purchasing an additional 279,092 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Zoetis from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $248.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Zoetis stock opened at $171.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 1-year low of $144.80 and a 1-year high of $200.53.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.