Scharf Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Scharf Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 818,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 324,659 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 2.8% of Scharf Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $103,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,306,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,190,326,000 after purchasing an additional 419,777 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,578 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,659,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,629,000 after purchasing an additional 250,829 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,046,000 after buying an additional 550,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,241,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $620,595,000 after buying an additional 496,320 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, HSBC set a $140.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.91.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $118.02 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.29 and a 12 month high of $172.23. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.12 and a 200-day moving average of $128.57.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.22%.

Zoetis Profile

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.