Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Stake Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,193,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 88,954 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Zoetis worth $320,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PAX Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 6.0% in the third quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 2,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 3.7% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Zoetis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $152.45.

Zoetis Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $124.79 on Monday. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.25 and a twelve month high of $177.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a current ratio of 3.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.05. The company has a market capitalization of $54.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a net margin of 28.21% and a return on equity of 57.19%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is 35.69%.

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.