Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Hits New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $322.95 and last traded at $316.46, with a volume of 154280 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $300.01.

The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.71. Zebra Technologies had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ZBRA. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Zebra Technologies from $312.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Zebra Technologies from $320.00 to $352.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Zebra Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Zebra Technologies from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Colleen M. O’sullivan sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.36, for a total value of $37,713.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,543 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,492.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Zebra Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ZBRA. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 20.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,965,000 after purchasing an additional 86,888 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Zebra Technologies by 487.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 64,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,548,000 after purchasing an additional 53,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 20.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 789,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $186,648,000 after purchasing an additional 131,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 255.3% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Zebra Technologies Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $288.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.12 and a beta of 1.79.

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides enterprise asset intelligence solutions in the automatic identification and data capture solutions industry worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Intelligence & Tracking, and Enterprise Visibility & Mobility. The company designs, manufactures, and sells printers that produce labels, wristbands, tickets, receipts, and plastic cards; dye-sublimination thermal card printers that produce images, which are used for personal identification, access control, and financial transactions; radio frequency identification device (RFID) printers that encode data into passive RFID transponders; accessories and options for printers, including carrying cases, vehicle mounts, and battery chargers; stock and customized thermal labels, receipts, ribbons, plastic cards, and RFID tags for printers; and temperature-monitoring labels primarily used in vaccine distribution.