19,059 Shares in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Acquired by Delta Global Management LP

Key Points

• Delta Global Management LP opened a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter, buying 19,059 shares valued at about $2.25 million.
• Zoetis continues to have heavy institutional backing, with major holders like Vanguard, J. Stern & Co., and State Street reporting large stakes; 92.8% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• The stock is facing mixed signals: analysts have cut price targets and issued a consensus “Hold” rating, while the company also dealt with disappointing earnings and ongoing securities-fraud litigation headlines.

Delta Global Management LP bought a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,253,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.7% during 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 bought a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $734,425,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ZTS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $75.32 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $77.29 and its 200-day moving average is $104.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.15 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.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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 year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

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.

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