Zoetis Inc. $ZTS Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its Zoetis stake by 37% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,873 shares and leaving it with 30,384 shares valued at about $3.82 million.
• Zoetis missed first-quarter expectations, reporting EPS of $1.53 versus the $1.60 estimate and revenue of $2.26 billion versus $2.30 billion expected, while sales still rose 2.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: the consensus rating remains Hold with a $141.25 price target, though some firms still rate the stock Buy/Overweight even after cutting targets.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lessened its holdings in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,384 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,873 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Zoetis were worth $3,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,780,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,011,802,000 after purchasing an additional 5,474,210 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,932,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,179,578 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,312,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,046,000 after purchasing an additional 550,859 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,241,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $620,595,000 after purchasing an additional 496,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP lifted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,615,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,966,000 after purchasing an additional 730,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ZTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Zoetis in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Zoetis in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $105.00 price objective on Zoetis in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Zoetis from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Zoetis from $190.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.25.

Zoetis Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NYSE ZTS opened at $82.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 3.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71. Zoetis Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.10 and a 52-week high of $172.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.70.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Zoetis had a net margin of 27.80% and a return on equity of 61.97%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. Zoetis has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Zoetis

Here are the key news stories impacting Zoetis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Zoetis from $190 to $130, but kept an overweight rating, implying the stock still has meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on JPMorgan target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive overall, with recent coverage still showing buy/overweight views and price targets well above the current share price, suggesting longer-term confidence despite near-term pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: Zoetis missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, which immediately hurt sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The company cut its FY2026 guidance after seeing weaker U.S. companion animal demand and pricing pressure, raising concerns that pet owners are spending less on veterinary care and premium products. Benzinga report on weak pet care demand
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage described the earnings release as a sharp disappointment, with reports highlighting a steep selloff after investors reacted to the softer outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Ademi LLP announced a securities fraud investigation into Zoetis, adding another overhang for shares as investors assess potential legal risk.

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.

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