United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,721 Shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,721 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,366,877 shares of the company's stock worth $6,739,905,000 after purchasing an additional 120,158 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,617,897 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,075,000 after acquiring an additional 190,137 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Zoetis by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 7,483,194 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,219,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,541 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Zoetis by 78.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,958,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,133,755,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059,255 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,561,910 shares of the company's stock worth $906,202,000 after purchasing an additional 433,429 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Up 0.8 %

ZTS traded up $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $151.13. 684,073 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,524,015. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.92. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $139.70 and a one year high of $200.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZTS. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Zoetis from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $242.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Zoetis from $243.00 to $238.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $214.40.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.18, for a total transaction of $55,804.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,757,196.26. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.14, for a total value of $201,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,244.30. This trade represents a 9.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,862 shares of company stock worth $312,254 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

About Zoetis

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.