Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stock Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 19.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 92,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,724 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the first quarter worth $2,542,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,558,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,331,000 after purchasing an additional 891,921 shares during the last quarter. Pincus Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $2,109,000. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth about $7,004,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Zoetis by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 144,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,185,000 after buying an additional 60,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

More Zoetis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Several firms announced or promoted securities-fraud litigation against Zoetis, which can weigh on sentiment by raising legal, financial, and reputational risk for the company. Zoetis Inc. (ZTS) Shareholders Who Lost Money Have Opportunity to Lead Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The class-action deadline reminders may keep the controversy in the spotlight and encourage more shareholder claims, adding overhang to the stock. ZOETIS CLASS ACTION DEADLINE MONDAY JULY 27th
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha commentary argues Zoetis sentiment remains strong and fundamentals are improving, offering a more constructive longer-term view. Zoetis: Sentiment Keeps Winning As Fundamentals Improve

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Zoetis from $115.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Zoetis news, Director Frank A. Damelio purchased 6,650 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $75.39 per share, for a total transaction of $501,343.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul Bisaro purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.88 per share, with a total value of $151,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 27,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,168.56. This represents a 7.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 11,650 shares of company stock valued at $886,384 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Down 0.0%

ZTS stock opened at $75.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.08. Zoetis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.47 and a fifty-two week high of $160.48. 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 (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is 35.16%.

Zoetis Company 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.