Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 15,338 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its stake in Zoetis Inc. by 17.8%, selling 15,338 shares, leaving it with 70,900 shares valued at approximately $11.67 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their positions in Zoetis, with notable increases of 614.6% and 141.4% from Bfsg LLC and Sound Income Strategies LLC respectively.
• Zoetis's most recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.76, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $2.46 billion, which was a 4.2% increase year-over-year.

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,900 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,338 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $11,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,431,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,713,000 after purchasing an additional 5,372 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the first quarter worth approximately $1,398,000. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 6.5% in the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 336,138 shares of the company's stock worth $55,345,000 after buying an additional 20,547 shares during the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Zoetis by 29.3% in the first quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 1,605 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Zoetis by 4.3% in the first quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 5,751 shares of the company's stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Zoetis from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Zoetis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Zoetis from $189.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Zoetis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $180.00 to $155.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 652 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $110,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,571,930. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $156.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,534,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,151,983. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $153.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.85. The stock has a market cap of $69.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.70 and a 1-year high of $200.33.

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

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.