Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $2.57 Million Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its Zoetis stake by 85% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 20,448 shares valued at about $2.57 million.
• Zoetis is facing a wave of securities class action lawsuits alleging misstatements and omissions related to product adoption, adding legal overhang and uncertainty for the stock.
• Insiders and analysts remain mixed: two directors bought shares recently, while Wall Street consensus is still Hold with a target price of $133.92, despite the stock trading well below prior highs.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,596 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Zoetis by 3,311.3% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 158,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,912,000 after purchasing an additional 153,611 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $390,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 9,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Zoetis by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 58,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,360,000 after acquiring an additional 15,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $35,365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, The Gross Law Firm, Kessler Topaz, Bragar Eagel & Squire, and others, announced or reiterated securities class actions against Zoetis, with claims tied to alleged misstatements and omissions about product adoption during the January 14, 2025 to May 6, 2026 period. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuits highlighted a July 27, 2026 lead-plaintiff deadline and suggested investors who bought ZTS during the class period may have suffered losses, increasing legal overhang and uncertainty for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted ZTS recently outperformed the broader market, but that commentary was largely backward-looking and did not change the heavier focus on litigation headlines. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ZTS. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.92.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.0%

Zoetis stock opened at $78.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.38 and a 1-year high of $161.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.54. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

About Zoetis

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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