State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,964 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 80.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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. StockNews.com lowered Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ZTS opened at $169.79 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.80 and a 12 month high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $76.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.53 and its 200 day moving average is $177.06.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 36.56%.

Zoetis 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.