UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases 22,111 Shares of Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 72.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,495 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,111 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $6,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Zoetis by 12,431.2% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 24,069,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,028,423,000 after purchasing an additional 23,877,416 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Zoetis by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,796,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,490,845,000 after purchasing an additional 149,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,327,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,294,000 after purchasing an additional 189,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $734,425,000. 92.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Zoetis from $140.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Zoetis from $136.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.46.

Zoetis Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:ZTS traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.49. 5,157,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,410,874. The stock has a market cap of $31.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.75. Zoetis Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.47 and a twelve month high of $160.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.96 and a 200 day moving average of $107.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). Zoetis had a return on equity of 66.85% and a net margin of 27.80%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Zoetis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.8%. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Zoetis

In other Zoetis news, Director Michael B. Mccallister acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.76 per share, for a total transaction of $233,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 24,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,906,986.24. This represents a 13.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Frank A. Damelio acquired 6,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.39 per share, with a total value of $501,343.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,617,718.62. The trade was a 44.91% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 11,650 shares of company stock worth $886,384 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: No clearly positive company-specific catalysts were reported in the latest batch of articles.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Glancy Prongay, Bragar Eagel & Squire, The Gross Law Firm, Kessler Topaz, Schall, Howard G. Smith, and Bernstein Liebhard, are urging investors who bought ZTS shares during the class period to contact them before the July 27 lead plaintiff deadline.
• Negative Sentiment: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Zoetis and certain officers, with allegations of material misstatements and/or omissions tied to product adoption, which may increase legal costs and pressure the stock. Article Title

About Zoetis

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.