Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter worth $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 66.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 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 purchase, the director owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. This represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zoetis announced the commercial launch of Portela® (relfovetmab) in Canada and the European Union, a first-in-class long-acting anti-NGF treatment for cat osteoarthritis pain. The launch supports new international revenue growth and highlights the company’s innovation pipeline. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: An investor letter highlighted Zoetis as a possible entry point, arguing that temporary concerns may be creating an opportunity. This is supportive sentiment, but it is opinion-based rather than a company-specific catalyst. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or reminded investors about a securities class action lawsuit against Zoetis, with a July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline. The repeated legal notices may pressure sentiment by keeping alleged investor-harm concerns in focus. Article title

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.50.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $74.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.46. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.47 and a 1 year high of $160.48.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Zoetis’s payout ratio 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.