California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 15,732 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,354,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,732 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.30% of Zoetis worth $220,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Callahan Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 90.4% during the 4th quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 24.1% in the fourth 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 boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $1,764,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Zoetis by 2,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 30,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,904,000 after buying an additional 28,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS traded down $3.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $160.28. 2,032,732 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,597,410. The company has a 50-day moving average of $166.20 and a 200-day moving average of $173.98. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.80 and a 52-week high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 1.25%. Zoetis's payout ratio is 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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 dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

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.