Unisphere Establishment Lowers Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Unisphere Establishment cut its Zoetis stake by 41.7% in the first quarter, selling 2 million shares and leaving it with 2.8 million shares worth about $331 million.
• Zoetis reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.53 missing estimates of $1.60 and revenue of $2.26 billion slightly below expectations, though revenue still rose 2.9% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more cautious on the stock, with several firms lowering price targets; the current consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $119.50, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Unisphere Establishment lessened its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,800,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,000,000 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up 2.8% of Unisphere Establishment's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Unisphere Establishment owned about 0.67% of Zoetis worth $330,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Zoetis by 12,431.2% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company's stock worth $3,028,423,000 after purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Zoetis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company's stock worth $2,490,845,000 after purchasing an additional 149,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,420,294,000 after purchasing an additional 189,235 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $734,425,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE ZTS opened at $75.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.75. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $77.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.25. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.47 and a 1-year high of $160.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis's payout ratio is 35.16%.

Zoetis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired 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 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $119.50.

Zoetis 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.