Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust Buys Shares of 37,045 Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Retail Employees Superannuation Trust initiated a new position in Zoetis during the fourth quarter, buying 37,045 shares worth about $4.66 million. The stock now makes up 1.2% of the fund’s holdings and is its 28th largest position.
• Insiders also bought shares, with directors Paul Bisaro and Frank A. Damelio purchasing a combined 8,650 shares on May 13. In total, insiders acquired 11,650 shares last quarter worth $886,384.
• Zoetis reported mixed results and lowered analyst expectations: its latest quarterly EPS and revenue both missed estimates, while several analysts cut price targets. The stock was trading around $79.48, and the company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,045 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,661,000. Zoetis comprises 1.2% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,011,802,000 after buying an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the 3rd quarter valued at $394,010,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Zoetis by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after buying an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its stake in Zoetis by 256.7% during the 4th quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,168,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $266,888,000 after buying an additional 1,560,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Zoetis by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,697,827 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,746,000 after buying an additional 1,227,085 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.92.

Zoetis Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $79.48 on Thursday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.38 and a 52-week high of $172.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.60.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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