Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its Zoetis stake by 6.2% in Q4, selling 135,282 shares and leaving it with 2,057,780 shares worth about $258.9 million (≈0.47% of the company); institutional investors own roughly 92.8% of ZTS.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—seven Buy, seven Hold and one Sell—giving a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $151.75 and recent targets ranging roughly $130–$160.
• Zoetis posted a recent quarter beat (EPS $1.48 vs. $1.40), set FY2026 guidance of 7.00–7.10 EPS, has a $47.36 billion market cap, and pays a $0.53 quarterly dividend (≈1.9% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,057,780 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,282 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Zoetis worth $258,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $136.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $112.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $47.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.87. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.27 and a twelve month high of $172.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $119.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.24% and a return on equity of 62.02%. Zoetis's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.22%.

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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