Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply reduced its Zoetis stake by 89.8% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 313,000 shares and leaving it with 35,418 shares valued at about $4.46 million.
• Zoetis reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $1.53 missing estimates and revenue of $2.26 billion slightly below expectations, though revenue still rose 2.9% from a year earlier.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, while insider buying was notable, with directors Paul Bisaro and Michael B. McCallister purchasing shares recently.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,418 shares of the company's stock after selling 313,511 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Zoetis were worth $4,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Zoetis by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,179,578 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Zoetis by 4.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 251,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,745,000 after acquiring an additional 10,434 shares in the last quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Zoetis by 361.2% in the fourth quarter. Seilern Investment Management Ltd now owns 333,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,957,000 after acquiring an additional 261,155 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Zoetis by 134.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,631,619 shares of the company's stock valued at $205,290,000 after acquiring an additional 935,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 6.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 295,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,235,000 after acquiring an additional 18,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael B. Mccallister bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. The trade was a 13.94% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.1%

ZTS stock opened at $81.26 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.38 and a twelve month high of $172.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $108.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.47. The stock has a market cap of $34.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.87.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.92.

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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