21,500 Shares in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Zoetis during the first quarter, buying 21,500 shares valued at about $2.54 million.
• Zoetis shares were down about 3.9% and recently traded near $73.15, close to their 12-month low of $72.38.
• The company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, though it still announced a $0.53 quarterly dividend and received a mixed analyst outlook with a consensus rating of Hold.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,542,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Zoetis by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $73.15 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.38 and a 12-month high of $161.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.78 and a 200-day moving average of $110.59. The company has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The company's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.08.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the purchase, 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Company 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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