TIAA Trust National Association Grows Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,829 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $20,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $196,651,000. Polen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Zoetis by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Zoetis by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,748,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,355,000 after acquiring an additional 867,993 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Zoetis by 296.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 889,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,917,000 after purchasing an additional 665,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,065,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,266,000 after purchasing an additional 572,511 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 11,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. 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 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,781 shares in the company, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.80 and a fifty-two week high of $200.33. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

About Zoetis

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.