State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Sells 26,093 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,011,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,093 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up approximately 2.4% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned 3.55% of Zoetis worth $2,608,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Zoetis by 80.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Asset Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

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

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ZTS opened at $163.03 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.80 and a twelve month high of $200.33. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $166.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.67.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 53.82%. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.23%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. Barclays lifted 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $215.90.

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.