BNP Paribas Grows Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• BNP Paribas increased its Zoetis stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,476 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 192,076 shares valued at about $24.2 million.
• Zoetis reported mixed recent results, with quarterly earnings of $1.53 per share coming in below estimates and revenue of $2.26 billion slightly missing expectations, though sales still rose 2.9% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on ZTS, with multiple firms cutting price targets and the consensus rating now sitting at “Hold”; meanwhile, the company faces class action lawsuit notices tied to alleged disclosure issues.

BNP Paribas lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,076 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,476 shares during the period. Zoetis comprises 0.7% of BNP Paribas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. BNP Paribas' holdings in Zoetis were worth $24,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Zoetis by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock worth $6,011,802,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Zoetis by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,294,000 after acquiring an additional 189,235 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $734,425,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Zoetis by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock worth $622,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Zoetis by 14.6% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company's stock worth $631,046,000 after acquiring an additional 550,859 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $77.61 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $103.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $72.38 and a one year high of $172.23. The firm has a market cap of $32.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 6.89 EPS 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 given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Zoetis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Kaplan Fox, Levi & Korsinsky, Robbins LLP, Frank R. Cruz, and Robbins Geller, announced or reminded investors about a class action lawsuit tied to Zoetis securities purchases between January 14, 2025 and May 6, 2026. These updates highlight the July 27, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline and keep the litigation risk in focus. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One lawsuit notice alleges Zoetis’ risk disclosures were too generic and failed to warn investors about known safety and competition issues, suggesting possible shareholder harm and adding to uncertainty around the company’s legal and operational outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance item flagged Zoetis as one of the most oversold S&P 500 stocks so far in 2026, which may reflect weak sentiment but does not itself provide a new company-specific catalyst. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other news, Director Michael B. Mccallister acquired 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. This trade represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought 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 directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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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