Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Stake Raised by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 1.2%, owning a total of 6,504,902 shares valued at approximately $1.07 billion.
• Zoetis reported earnings of $1.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $2.46 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 34.42%.

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,504,902 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,508 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.46% of Zoetis worth $1,071,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,556,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,842,222,000 after purchasing an additional 189,287 shares in the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,796,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,448,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,653 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,146,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $847,293,000 after purchasing an additional 109,791 shares in the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment increased its holdings in Zoetis by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,800,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $782,064,000 after purchasing an additional 325,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,408,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $725,866,000 after purchasing an additional 312,746 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:ZTS traded down $1.2650 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $155.4950. The stock had a trading volume of 2,411,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,540,633. The company has a market capitalization of $68.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.88. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $154.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%.The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $110,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.