Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 24,744 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Morningstar Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 49.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,744 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $2,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,011,802,000 after buying an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after acquiring an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,490,845,000 after acquiring an additional 149,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,294,000 after acquiring an additional 189,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $734,425,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zoetis Trading Up 1.0%

Zoetis stock opened at $75.32 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.47 and a 1 year high of $160.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued 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). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $150.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.50.

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.