Willis Investment Counsel Raises Holdings in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 22.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,746 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,787 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Zoetis in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Zoetis by 66.5% during the 1st 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. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Zoetis in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Wellington Grp LLC raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 6,675.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ZTS. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Zoetis from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.62.

Zoetis Stock Down 2.9%

Zoetis stock opened at $73.64 on Friday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.45 and a 1-year high of $160.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.02. Zoetis had a return on equity of 74.89% and a net margin of 27.49%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.250 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Zoetis’s payout ratio is presently 34.93%.

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.