Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Stock Position Lifted by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 438,175 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,571 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.10% of Zoetis worth $71,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.40.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE ZTS traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $150.93. 745,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,671. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.22. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The company has a market cap of $67.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,757,196.26. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.