Highland Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management cut its stake in Zoetis by 48.2% in Q4, selling 18,712 shares and ending the period with 20,130 shares worth about $2.53 million.
• Zoetis beat quarterly expectations with $1.48 EPS (vs. $1.40 est.) and $2.39B revenue, and set FY2026 guidance of 7.00–7.10 EPS (analysts' consensus ~7.01).
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~1.9% yield), has a market cap near $47.4B, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $151.75 price target.

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,712 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock opened at $112.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.87. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.27 and a 12-month high of $172.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $119.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.33.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 28.24%.The business's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Zoetis from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.75.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.