Morningstar Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management cut its Zoetis stake by 49.7% in the first quarter, selling nearly half its shares and leaving it with 25,042 shares worth about $2.96 million.
• Several analysts have recently lowered their price targets on Zoetis, and the stock now carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $119.50.
• Zoetis missed first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, though it still posted 2.9% revenue growth year over year; the company also announced a $0.53 quarterly dividend payable on September 1.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 49.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,042 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,744 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock worth $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in Zoetis by 12,431.2% in 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,490,845,000 after buying an additional 149,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company's stock worth $1,420,294,000 after buying an additional 189,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at about $734,425,000. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ZTS shares. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC cut their target price on Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Zoetis from $150.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.50.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $75.32 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.47 and a 1-year high of $160.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.25. The company has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.16%.

Zoetis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.