Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Purchases 24,759 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its Zoetis stake by 510.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 24,759 additional shares to bring its total to 29,613 shares valued at about $3.73 million.
• Zoetis posted mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $1.53 per share and revenue of $2.26 billion both missing estimates, even as revenue rose 2.9% year over year.
• The company is facing pressure from Wall Street and legal headlines, including lowered price targets from analysts and notices tied to an ongoing securities fraud class action, while insiders recently bought shares and Zoetis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 510.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,613 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,759 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZTS. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Zoetis by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Zoetis by 361.2% in the fourth quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd now owns 333,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,957,000 after acquiring an additional 261,155 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 134.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,631,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,290,000 after acquiring an additional 935,432 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 17.7% in the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 197,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,950,000 after acquiring an additional 29,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,531 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,185,000 after acquiring an additional 60,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $76.42 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.71. 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 $72.38 and a 12-month high of $172.23. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.89 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Zoetis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders and deadline notices tied to an ongoing securities fraud class action against Zoetis, alleging investors were harmed by false or misleading statements during the Jan. 14, 2025 to May 6, 2026 period. These headlines can weigh on sentiment because they raise legal overhang and potential financial/reputational risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Zoetis was reportedly downgraded after a steep broader market selloff, signaling weakening near-term sentiment from Wall Street and adding to pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish article highlighted lawsuits challenging the company’s companion-animal outlook, suggesting investors may be questioning growth assumptions for a key business segment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zoetis presented at the 46th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference, which may help investors gauge management’s outlook and strategy, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the transcript headline.
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-oriented piece argued Zoetis could be a deep-value opportunity with significant upside, which may support longer-term sentiment but is unlikely to outweigh today’s legal and rating-related headlines.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.92.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other news, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought 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 approximately $1,906,986.24. This trade represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Company 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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