Townsquare Capital LLC Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 53.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,719 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,886,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,532,276,000 after purchasing an additional 330,823 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,081,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,721,356,000 after acquiring an additional 95,294 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $809,491,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.7% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,659,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,629,000 after acquiring an additional 250,829 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Zoetis by 113.0% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,761,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995,491 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ZTS opened at $121.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 2.28. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.25 and a 1 year high of $177.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.47.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. Zoetis’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 35.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 target price on Zoetis in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.45.

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.