Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $107.92 Million Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 14.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 912,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 159,705 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $107,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Delta Global Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis during the 1st quarter worth $2,253,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in Zoetis by 79.5% during the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 29,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,491,000 after purchasing an additional 13,084 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its stake in Zoetis by 2.6% during the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 16,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd increased its holdings in Zoetis by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 93,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,005,000 after buying an additional 23,239 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of Zoetis stock opened at $76.91 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.47 and a fifty-two week high of $160.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ZTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $99.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.33.

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.