Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,649 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,073 shares during the period. Zoetis makes up approximately 1.3% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $10,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Zoetis by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,886,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,532,276,000 after purchasing an additional 330,823 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Zoetis by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,081,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,356,000 after buying an additional 95,294 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Zoetis in the 2nd quarter worth $809,491,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,659,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,629,000 after buying an additional 250,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 113.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,761,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,671,000 after buying an additional 1,995,491 shares in the last quarter. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ZTS shares. KeyCorp started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.91.

Trending Headlines about Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several market write-ups argue Zoetis is undervalued after a roughly 24% one-year pullback and present a buying opportunity; these narratives can attract value-focused investors. Is Zoetis (ZTS) Offering An Opportunity After A 24% One-Year Share Price Pullback
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece makes a case that Zoetis is “Undervalued And Oversold,” reinforcing the narrative that current levels could be attractive to long-term investors. Zoetis: Undervalued And Oversold
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen upgraded Zoetis to a “Buy,” which can provide short-term support as some investors chase analyst upgrades. Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: A roundup of eight analyst ratings shows mixed views across the street, indicating no clear consensus and contributing to stock volatility. 7ZTS : What 8 Analyst Ratings Have To Say About Zoetis
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst consensus remains around a “Hold,” which suggests many pros see limited near-term upside absent clearer catalysts. Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler downgraded ZTS from “Overweight” to “Neutral” and cut its price target sharply (from $190 to $135), a material change that likely pressured the stock and investor sentiment. Piper Sandler downgrades Zoetis (ZTS)

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS opened at $124.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.58 and a 200 day moving average of $138.29. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.25 and a 52-week high of $177.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $54.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.97.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.19% and a net margin of 28.21%.The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. This is a positive change from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.69%.

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.