Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Invests $3.46 Million in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 23,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Zoetis by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,306,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,190,326,000 after purchasing an additional 419,777 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,081,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,721,356,000 after acquiring an additional 95,294 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the second quarter worth about $809,491,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Zoetis by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,659,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,629,000 after acquiring an additional 250,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Zoetis by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,046,000 after purchasing an additional 550,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ZTS. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group set a $136.00 price objective on Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Zoetis from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Zoetis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.91.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ZTS opened at $129.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $125.88 and its 200 day moving average is $134.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 3.03 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.25 and a 1 year high of $177.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.96.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 28.24%.The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.000-7.100 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.22%.

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.