William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 168,560 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc., selling 168,560 shares and leaving it with only 12,501 shares, a decrease of 93.1%.
• Zoetis reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues increasing 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.4%, scheduled for payment on December 2nd.

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 93.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,501 shares of the company's stock after selling 168,560 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter worth $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the first quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 79.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Zoetis by 201.5% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $145.11 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.60. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.34 and a 12 month high of $193.00.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 56.90% and a net margin of 27.83%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Zoetis's payout ratio is currently 34.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ZTS. UBS Group dropped their price target on Zoetis from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners lowered Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.00.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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