Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Takes $685,000 Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 2.4% in the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,689,000 after acquiring an additional 7,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Zoetis by 801.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 18,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,635,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $214.40.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.6 %

ZTS opened at $146.78 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.70 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $65.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. 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’s fifty day moving average is $161.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.60.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

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.