Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,022 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 104,866 shares of the company's stock worth $20,489,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 17.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,377,403 shares of the company's stock worth $464,497,000 after buying an additional 351,372 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 25,979 shares of the company's stock worth $5,076,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 40.1% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Zoetis by 383.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 67,517 shares of the company's stock worth $13,191,000 after buying an additional 53,540 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. The trade was a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $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 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE ZTS traded down $0.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.65. 419,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,588,789. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.26. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.80 and a 12-month high of $200.33. The firm has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.90.

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.