2,425,010 Shares in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Acquired by Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.

Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,425,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,660,000. Zoetis comprises 4.8% of Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. owned 0.58% of Zoetis as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,888 shares of the company's stock worth $5,070,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 1.6% during the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd now owns 50,716 shares of the company's stock worth $5,995,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the period. Evercore Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.1% during the first quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the company's stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 132.1% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 330,839 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,109,000 after purchasing an additional 188,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 340.0% during the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,200,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael B. Mccallister purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 24,524 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,986.24. This trade represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.71. 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 posted 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). The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is 35.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. UBS Group decreased their price target on Zoetis from $99.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.33.

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.

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