Rathbones Group PLC Lowers Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Rathbones Group PLC cut its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 354,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,517 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $41,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its holdings in Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,490,845,000 after buying an additional 149,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,294,000 after buying an additional 189,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $734,425,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $77.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.47 and a 12-month high of $160.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.05 and a 200 day moving average of $102.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,906,986.24. The trade was a 13.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $150.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.33.

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.