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

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 5.3%, now holding 39,635 shares worth approximately $6.18 million.
• Zoetis reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 4.2% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Polen Capital Management, have also increased their holdings in Zoetis, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,635 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,006 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock worth $6,842,222,000 after buying an additional 189,287 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.6% during the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock worth $1,448,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313,653 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.2% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,504,902 shares of the company's stock worth $1,071,032,000 after acquiring an additional 78,508 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 2.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock worth $847,293,000 after acquiring an additional 109,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 7.6% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,408,542 shares of the company's stock worth $725,866,000 after acquiring an additional 312,746 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $146.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.34 and a 1 year high of $196.55. The firm has a market cap of $64.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.08.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%.The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.88.

Zoetis Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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