13,419 Shares in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,186,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after acquiring an additional 120,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,864,488,000 after purchasing an additional 95,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,427,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,030,813,000 after purchasing an additional 185,364 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company's stock worth $906,202,000 after buying an additional 433,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $162.18. 1,095,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,593,509. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. On average, analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. The trade was a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

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.