Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.54 Million in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership grew its stake in Zoetis by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its position in shares of Zoetis by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 1,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 2,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. 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 report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.08.

Zoetis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $73.15 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 $72.38 and a 12 month high of $161.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.78 and a 200-day moving average of $110.59. The company has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.75.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly 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). Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 66.85%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.88 per share, for a total transaction of $151,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio bought 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought 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 $1,617,718.62. This trade represents a 44.91% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.