Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Raises Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 190.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 68,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,040 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ZTS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $734,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,011,802,000 after buying an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the third quarter worth about $394,010,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,222,000 after buying an additional 2,179,578 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Zoetis by 256.7% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,168,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,888,000 after buying an additional 1,560,314 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Zoetis from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.92.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $79.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.80. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.38 and a 52-week high of $171.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG 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. Equities research analysts forecast 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 2.7%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.16%.

Zoetis News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are refocusing on Zoetis’ longer-term growth story, including its precision-animal-health expansion and planned Neogen animal genomics acquisition, which may be helping the stock rebound.
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed increased call buying in ZTS, suggesting some traders are positioning for more upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zoetis released its 2025 Sustainability Report, highlighting progress in its “Driven to Care” strategy; this supports the company’s long-term narrative but is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or expanded securities class action efforts against Zoetis, alleging investors were harmed by concealed FDA safety warnings and competitive market-share erosion; these headlines can weigh on the stock by raising legal and reputational risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted Zoetis’ underperformance versus healthcare peers and criticism from commentators, adding to the cautious tone around the name. Article Title

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.