New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 608,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,433 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Zoetis worth $99,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ZTS. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.90.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $156.92 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $70.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.