Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 510.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,613 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 24,759 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 2.4% in the third quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 1,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 4.4% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ZTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. UBS Group decreased 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. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.92.

Zoetis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $76.42 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.38 and a fifty-two week high of $172.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.71. The company has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 3.15.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. Zoetis’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Zoetis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued reminders and deadline notices tied to an ongoing securities fraud class action against Zoetis, alleging investors were harmed by false or misleading statements during the Jan. 14, 2025 to May 6, 2026 period. These headlines can weigh on sentiment because they raise legal overhang and potential financial/reputational risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Zoetis was reportedly downgraded after a steep broader market selloff, signaling weakening near-term sentiment from Wall Street and adding to pressure on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish article highlighted lawsuits challenging the company’s companion-animal outlook, suggesting investors may be questioning growth assumptions for a key business segment.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zoetis presented at the 46th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference, which may help investors gauge management’s outlook and strategy, but no major new catalyst was highlighted in the transcript headline.
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-oriented piece argued Zoetis could be a deep-value opportunity with significant upside, which may support longer-term sentiment but is unlikely to outweigh today’s legal and rating-related headlines.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other news, Director Michael B. Mccallister purchased 3,000 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.76 per share, with a total value of $233,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. The trade was a 13.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition 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 Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. This represents a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.