Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 16,107 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 734,744 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,107 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.16% of Zoetis worth $119,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 5,533.3% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ZTS traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 684,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,524,026. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.70 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.19 and a 200-day moving average of $169.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.32%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Activity

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total value of $55,804.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.