Rathbones Group PLC Sells 157,033 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its Zoetis stake by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 157,033 shares and ending with 375,031 shares worth about $47.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors adjusted holdings, and overall 92.8% of Zoetis shares are owned by institutions, underscoring heavy professional ownership of the stock.
• Analysts turned more cautious on Zoetis after its latest earnings miss, with UBS and Citigroup cutting price targets and the consensus rating settling at “Hold” with an average target price of $134.75.

Rathbones Group PLC cut its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 375,031 shares of the company's stock after selling 157,033 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.09% of Zoetis worth $47,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northbridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $300,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Zoetis by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 71,286 shares of the company's stock worth $8,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Zoetis by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 29,265 shares of the company's stock worth $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 13,194 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Canyon Capital Management increased its stake in Zoetis by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Canyon Capital Management now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its stake in Zoetis by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 416,270 shares of the company's stock worth $52,375,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $134.75.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of ZTS opened at $79.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.87. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.38 and a twelve month high of $172.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.69 and a 200-day moving average of $119.37. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.Zoetis's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $75.88 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Zoetis

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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