Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Buys 23,239 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 33.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,097 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,239 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $11,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,028,423,000 after buying an additional 23,877,416 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $6,011,802,000 after buying an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,740,113 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,682,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

Insider Activity at Zoetis

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ZTS. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.50.

Zoetis Stock Performance

NYSE:ZTS opened at $75.32 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.29 and its 200 day moving average is $104.25. The firm has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.18 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.47 and a 52-week high of $160.48.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid 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 yield of 2.8%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

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.