Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) Hits New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.70. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Zebra Technologies had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Zebra Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.59 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ZBRA shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Zebra Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Zebra Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Zebra Technologies from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $292.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Zebra Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Zebra Technologies

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Zebra Technologies by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,082,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,662,491,000 after buying an additional 22,327 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,646,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $389,400,000 after purchasing an additional 77,086 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,191,194 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $281,753,000 after purchasing an additional 92,055 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 107.1% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,010,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $276,222,000 after buying an additional 522,779 shares during the period. Finally, Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 6.3% in the third quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 992,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,810,000 after buying an additional 59,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Zebra Technologies Trading Up 5.9 %

The company has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.62 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Zebra Technologies Company Profile

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.