55,667 Shares in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Purchased by Sculptor Capital LP

Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 55,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,004,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during 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. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Zoetis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,490,845,000 after purchasing an additional 149,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,294,000 after purchasing an additional 189,235 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $734,425,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Zoetis by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,558,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,331,000 after purchasing an additional 891,921 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE ZTS opened at $79.95 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.38 and a twelve month high of $166.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15. The stock has a market cap of $33.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.83.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) 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 return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.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 firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael B. Mccallister purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. The trade was a 13.94% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,458 shares in the company, valued at $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have bought 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Zoetis from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.92.

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.