Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Cuts Position in Zoetis Inc. $ZTS

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp decreased its position in shares of Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,946 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Zoetis were worth $8,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Zoetis by 180.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Zoetis by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,859,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Zoetis by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zoetis by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.80% of the company’s stock.

Zoetis Price Performance

ZTS stock opened at $124.94 on Tuesday. Zoetis Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.25 and a 1 year high of $177.40. The company has a market cap of $55.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.13 and a 200 day moving average of $136.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 3.64 and a quick ratio of 2.28.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.08. Zoetis had a return on equity of 57.19% and a net margin of 28.21%.The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Zoetis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Zoetis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Zoetis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Zoetis from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Zoetis from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut Zoetis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays assumed coverage on Zoetis in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $136.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Zoetis to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.45.

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.