Motco Lowers Holdings in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Motco slashed its Zoetis stake by 99.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 61,100 shares and ending with just 205 shares valued at about $26,000.
• Insider buying picked up recently, with directors Michael B. McCallister and Paul Bisaro purchasing shares worth a combined $385,040 over two transactions, and insiders buying $886,384 worth in the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain cautious on Zoetis after recent rating and price-target cuts; the stock currently has a consensus “Hold” rating and average target of $134.75, while the company also reported a Q1 earnings miss and stock price near $80.13.

Motco cut its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 99.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 205 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,100 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in Zoetis were worth $26,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,011,802,000 after acquiring an additional 5,474,210 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at about $394,010,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 256.7% in the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,168,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,697,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,227,085 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael B. Mccallister purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. This trade represents a 13.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have purchased 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ZTS. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $80.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average is $108.88 and its 200 day moving average is $118.92. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.38 and a 52 week high of $172.23. 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 (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during 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%.Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. 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 year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 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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