Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates Corp significantly boosted its Zoetis stake, increasing holdings by 269% in the fourth quarter to 2.39 million shares valued at about $300.3 million.
• Zoetis is facing a growing legal overhang, with multiple law firms urging shareholders to join securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about veterinarian adoption and prescription trends.
• The stock has come under pressure after a disappointing quarter: Zoetis missed EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts have turned more cautious, with the consensus rating now at Hold and an average target price of $133.92.

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 269.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,387,059 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,740,113 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.54% of Zoetis worth $300,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 246,501 shares of the company's stock worth $30,759,000 after buying an additional 59,012 shares in the last quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. Cloverfields Capital Group LP now owns 36,524 shares of the company's stock worth $4,595,000 after buying an additional 13,644 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 680.1% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 1,053,857 shares of the company's stock worth $132,596,000 after buying an additional 918,771 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 42,000 shares of the company's stock worth $5,284,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,597 shares of the company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The recent analyst coverage split suggests some Wall Street firms still see value in Zoetis despite the recent selloff, which could help stabilize sentiment. Zoetis (ZTS) Stock Draws Fresh Price Target Split After Difficult Q1 Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms are urging investors who bought Zoetis shares between January 14, 2025 and May 6, 2026 to join or lead securities-fraud litigation ahead of the July 27 deadline; while procedural for now, the steady stream of notices keeps legal overhang in focus. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional class-action reminders from The Gross Law Firm, Bragar Eagel & Squire, and The Schall Law Firm add to the headline noise, but do not yet change Zoetis’s fundamentals on their own. ZTS Shareholder Alert: Zoetis Inc. Securities Class Action Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: The lawsuits appear to center on alleged misrepresentations about weakening veterinarian adoption and prescription trends, which help explain why investors remain cautious after the company’s disappointing Q1 results. Lost Money on Zoetis Inc. (ZTS)? Join Class Action Suit Seeking Recovery
• Negative Sentiment: The legal overhang and repeated fraud allegations are a negative for sentiment and may keep pressure on Zoetis Inc. NYSE: ZTS until there is more clarity on the lawsuits and on whether the underlying business trends are improving. ROSEN, RECOGNIZED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages Zoetis Inc. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action - ZTS

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.92.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE ZTS opened at $79.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.22. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.38 and a 52 week high of $167.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. 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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