Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its Zoetis stake by 178% in the first quarter, ending with 42,240 shares valued at about $5.0 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 92.8% of the stock.
• Zoetis reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, though revenue still rose 2.9% year over year. The company also reaffirmed guidance, with analysts projecting about 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.8%. At the same time, analyst sentiment is cautious overall, with a consensus Hold rating and multiple recent price-target cuts.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 178.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,240 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,046 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter valued at $2,542,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Zoetis by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock worth $622,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Zoetis by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,558,183 shares of the company's stock worth $699,331,000 after acquiring an additional 891,921 shares during the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 361.2% in the 4th quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd now owns 333,465 shares of the company's stock worth $41,957,000 after purchasing an additional 261,155 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 134.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,631,619 shares of the company's stock worth $205,290,000 after purchasing an additional 935,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $76.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.47 and a 1 year high of $160.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.03.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael B. Mccallister acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,906,986.24. This represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zoetis was named as title sponsor of PawsitiveIntelligence.ai, adding a small brand-visibility and industry-partnership angle. Pawsitive Holdings Announces Zoetis as Title Sponsor of PawsitiveIntelligence.ai
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary argued Zoetis offers an attractive risk-reward setup, suggesting a more constructive long-term view despite recent volatility. Zoetis: An Attractive Risk-Reward Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Zoetis’ upcoming second-quarter earnings report is getting attention, with analysts expecting modest growth and investors watching for updated guidance and commentary on diagnostics demand. Zoetis Earnings Preview: What to Expect
• Neutral Sentiment: Zoetis announced it will acquire VitalRADS, a veterinary teleradiology platform, which could support its diagnostics strategy and AI-enabled offerings. Zoetis Gains as VitalRADS Deal Boosts Diagnostics Narrative
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders and investor alerts tied to a securities class action against Zoetis, reinforcing concerns about litigation risk and possible reputational damage. Deadline Alert for CALX, AVAV, ZTS, LCID
• Negative Sentiment: Additional class-action notices specifically target Zoetis shareholders, underscoring that the lawsuit remains an active overhang for the stock. ZTS Shareholder Alert
• Negative Sentiment: The legal backdrop follows earlier reports alleging investor harm and reminding shareholders of the same July 27 deadline, keeping sentiment cautious. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen cut Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $150.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Zoetis from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Eight 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $120.83.

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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