Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Invests $311,000 in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $1,219,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,541 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in Zoetis by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company's stock worth $453,355,000 after purchasing an additional 867,993 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Zoetis by 296.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,917,000 after buying an additional 665,331 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,266,000 after buying an additional 572,511 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.39. 574,637 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,973,250. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.80 and a 1 year high of $200.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners began coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.