Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Position Cut by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,056,947 shares of the company’s stock after selling 58,570 shares during the quarter. Zoetis comprises about 2.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $132,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Zoetis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. The trade was a 7.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Zoetis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.75.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS opened at $78.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.38 and a 1-year high of $172.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.82.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.