Zoetis Inc. $ZTS is Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s 2nd Largest Position

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 340.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,200,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700,000 shares during the quarter. Zoetis makes up about 5.4% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP owned 0.52% of Zoetis worth $260,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 66.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Zoetis from $99.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Eight research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.33.

Zoetis Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of ZTS opened at $76.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Zoetis Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.47 and a 12-month high of $160.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $77.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 (NYSE:ZTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,114,168.56. This trade represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.