HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 129,665 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Zoetis stake by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 129,665 shares and ending with 323,020 shares valued at about $40.6 million.
• Zoetis reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.53 versus the $1.60 estimate and revenue of $2.26 billion versus $2.30 billion expected, though revenue still rose 2.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable Sept. 1, for an annualized yield of 2.6%; meanwhile, analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with a $134.75 target price.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 323,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 129,665 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Zoetis worth $40,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock worth $6,011,802,000 after buying an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock worth $622,222,000 after buying an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Zoetis by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company's stock worth $631,046,000 after buying an additional 550,859 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Zoetis by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,241,357 shares of the company's stock worth $620,595,000 after buying an additional 496,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP lifted its position in Zoetis by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,615,131 shares of the company's stock worth $528,966,000 after buying an additional 730,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $80.13 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $108.88 and a 200 day moving average of $118.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.38 and a 52 week high of $172.23.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for 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%. Zoetis's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 target price on Zoetis in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.75.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 24,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,906,986.24. This represents a 13.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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