Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Purchased by Caxton Associates LLP

Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 183.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,904 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,646 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $5,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% in 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 buying an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 269.0% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,387,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 372.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,134,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,384 shares during the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zoetis announced the commercial launch of Portela® (relfovetmab) in Canada and the European Union, a first-in-class long-acting anti-NGF treatment for cat osteoarthritis pain. The launch supports new international revenue growth and highlights the company’s innovation pipeline. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: An investor letter highlighted Zoetis as a possible entry point, arguing that temporary concerns may be creating an opportunity. This is supportive sentiment, but it is opinion-based rather than a company-specific catalyst. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or reminded investors about a securities class action lawsuit against Zoetis, with a July 27 lead-plaintiff deadline. The repeated legal notices may pressure sentiment by keeping alleged investor-harm concerns in focus. Article title

Zoetis Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $74.53 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.47 and a 52-week high of $160.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.26 and a 200 day moving average of $104.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $31.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Zoetis news, Director Michael B. Mccallister purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,906,986.24. This trade represents a 13.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.