Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 71,780 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 21.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 411,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,780 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $60,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 496.6% in the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Zoetis during the third quarter worth about $39,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 1,606.3% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 273 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ZTS shares. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, HSBC set a $140.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.91.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $120.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 3.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $125.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.95. Zoetis Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.25 and a 52 week high of $172.23.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 28.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. Analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 35.22%.

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.