Ground Swell Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in Zebra Technologies Corporation, purchasing 761 shares valued at approximately $215,000 during the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, such as Kovitz Investment Group and Pacer Advisors, have significantly increased their stakes in Zebra Technologies, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Zebra Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.61, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a $250 million share buyback plan, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 761 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ZBRA. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,254,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,183,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $334,469,000 after buying an additional 255,193 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 5,704.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 259,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,286,000 after buying an additional 254,895 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 20,849.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,335,000 after buying an additional 254,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,633,000. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ZBRA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Zebra Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Zebra Technologies from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Zebra Technologies from $263.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zebra Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $342.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.44.

Zebra Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ZBRA opened at $337.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Zebra Technologies Corporation has a 12 month low of $205.73 and a 12 month high of $427.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $315.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.82.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. Zebra Technologies had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 10.56%. Zebra Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Zebra Technologies Corporation will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

Zebra Technologies announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Zebra Technologies 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.

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