UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Cuts Stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,712 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 282,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,077,000 after buying an additional 30,407 shares in the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Bay Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Zoetis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Zoetis by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 26,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,315,000 after acquiring an additional 5,446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total transaction of $201,029.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $55,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

ZTS opened at $161.29 on Wednesday. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $72.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.02.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Zoetis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Zoetis to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $215.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $215.90.

Zoetis Company Profile

Zoetis Inc engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.