Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 20,000 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,000 after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 237,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,617,000 after purchasing an additional 46,050 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $1,764,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Zoetis by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 245,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,036,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This trade represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $6.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $147.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,161,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,129. The firm has a market cap of $65.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.01. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.70 and a 1 year high of $200.33.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for 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, equities analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.56%.

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.