Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP Sells 71,605 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 23.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 231,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71,605 shares during the quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $27,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Zoetis during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,542,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Zoetis by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,558,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,331,000 after buying an additional 891,921 shares during the last quarter. Pincus Capital Management LP bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,109,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,004,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 71.3% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,185,000 after acquiring an additional 60,167 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.33.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $76.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.47 and a 1 year high of $160.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.16%.

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.