Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at about $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during the 4th 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. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $286,660,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 269.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,387,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,340,000 after buying an additional 1,740,113 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $73.64 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.45 and a 12-month high of $160.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.30 and a 200-day moving average of $99.01. The company has a market capitalization of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 74.89%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.19 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, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Friday, August 7th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Zoetis from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.62.

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.