Park Avenue Securities LLC Trims Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,893 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the second quarter worth $809,491,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $394,010,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,697,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,746,000 after buying an additional 1,227,085 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 85.9% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,578,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,619,000 after buying an additional 1,191,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 342.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,485,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,352,000 after buying an additional 1,149,467 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $116.65 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.30 and a 1-year high of $172.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $123.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.67. The company has a market capitalization of $49.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.24% and a return on equity of 62.02%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Zoetis’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ZTS. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.91.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc (NYSE: ZTS) is a global animal health company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of products and services for companion animals and livestock. The company’s offerings include pharmaceuticals, vaccines and biologics, parasiticides and anti-infectives, as well as diagnostic instruments, consumables and laboratory testing services. Zoetis serves the veterinary community, livestock producers and other animal-health customers with products designed to prevent, detect and treat disease and to support animal productivity and welfare.

Zoetis traces its roots to the animal health business of Pfizer and became an independent, publicly traded company following a 2013 separation and initial public offering.