Willis Investment Counsel Boosts Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Zoetis by 40.1% in Q4 to 104,216 shares (worth $13.112 million), and institutional investors now own about 92.8% of the company's stock.
• Zoetis beat Q results with EPS of $1.48 (vs. $1.40 est.) and revenue of $2.39B (+3% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of $7.00–$7.10 EPS; the analyst consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $152.91.
• The company declared a $0.53 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.12, ~1.8% yield, ex-dividend Apr 20), while the stock trades near $119.66 with a 52-week range of $113.29–$172.23 and a market cap of about $50.5B (PE ~19.9).

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,216 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,806 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Zoetis were worth $13,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 496.6% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ZTS. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $136.00 price objective on Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC set a $140.00 price target on Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $152.91.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $119.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.49. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.29 and a 52-week high of $172.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.98.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 28.24%.Zoetis's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. Analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio is 35.22%.

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.

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