Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Sold by Alta Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Alta Capital Management sharply cut its Zoetis stake by 93.8% in Q4, selling 152,485 shares and leaving it with 10,153 shares valued at about $1.28 million.
• Insiders were buying: directors Paul Bisaro and Frank A. Damelio purchased shares in mid-May, and insiders have bought 11,650 shares worth $886,384 over the past 90 days.
• Zoetis reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.53 missing estimates and revenue of $2.26 billion slightly below forecasts, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $134.75 price target.

Alta Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 93.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,153 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,485 shares during the quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $1,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after buying an additional 2,179,578 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Zoetis by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 251,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,745,000 after buying an additional 10,434 shares during the period. Seilern Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 361.2% in the 4th quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd now owns 333,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,957,000 after buying an additional 261,155 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 134.4% during the fourth 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. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 6.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 295,482 shares of the company's stock worth $43,235,000 after purchasing an additional 18,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $77.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.87. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.38 and a twelve month high of $172.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis's revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $134.75.

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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