Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,516 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,712 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Zoetis were worth $12,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTS. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Zoetis by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Zoetis by 482.8% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Zoetis by 5,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Zoetis in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Zoetis by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Zoetis Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE ZTS traded down $1.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,550,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,079. 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 50 day simple moving average of $166.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.55. Zoetis Inc. has a one year low of $144.80 and a one year high of $200.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

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Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a return on equity of 53.82% and a net margin of 26.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 21st. Zoetis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Zoetis from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Zoetis to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Leerink Partners started coverage on Zoetis in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Zoetis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.90.

Insider Transactions at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Willie M. Reed sold 1,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 represents a 9.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,682,770. This represents a 2.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,862 shares of company stock valued at $312,254. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis 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.