Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $28.07 Million in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 180,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,071,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 2nd quarter worth about $593,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 124,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,390,000 after purchasing an additional 5,685 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 5,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 41,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,260 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $145.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.34 and a 52-week high of $193.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $148.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.60. The company has a market capitalization of $64.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.83% and a return on equity of 56.90%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Zoetis’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Zoetis from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Zoetis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Zoetis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.