LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys 31,000 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management significantly increased its Zoetis stake in Q1, buying 31,000 shares and boosting its position by 1,273.6% to 33,434 shares worth about $3.95 million.
• Several other large investors also added to or established positions in Zoetis, and institutional ownership remains high at 92.8% of the company’s shares.
• Zoetis faces mixed signals: multiple law firms are urging investors to join a class action lawsuit, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $123.46 price target.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1,273.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,434 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,000 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ZTS. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 12,431.2% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 12.9% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 79.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 269.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,387,059 shares of the company's stock worth $300,340,000 after buying an additional 1,740,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

More Zoetis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: No clearly positive company-specific catalysts were reported in the latest batch of articles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Glancy Prongay, Bragar Eagel & Squire, The Gross Law Firm, Kessler Topaz, Schall, Howard G. Smith, and Bernstein Liebhard, are urging investors who bought ZTS shares during the class period to contact them before the July 27 lead plaintiff deadline.
• Negative Sentiment: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Zoetis and certain officers, with allegations of material misstatements and/or omissions tied to product adoption, which may increase legal costs and pressure the stock. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ZTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Zoetis from $150.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $123.46.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,168.56. This trade represents 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 Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,157,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,410,874. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.76. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.47 and a 1-year high of $160.48.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

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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