Janus Henderson Group PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,701,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182,365 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $437,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Zoetis by 66.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Zoetis from $145.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.33.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, Director Paul Bisaro acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the purchase, the director 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of ZTS stock opened at $76.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.47 and a fifty-two week high of $160.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.66.

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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Zoetis’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. On average, analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

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

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.