Weiss Asset Management LP Sells 69,207 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Weiss Asset Management LP decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 93.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,207 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the 4th 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 12.9% in 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 during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 269.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,387,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 372.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,134,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $76.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.47 and a 12-month high of $160.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 is 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.