JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its ownership in Zebra Technologies by 4.7%, holding approximately 1.90% of the company's stock valued at $276.375 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The company's board has approved a $250 million stock buyback program, suggesting confidence in its stock value, which is currently trading at around $328.14.
• For the fiscal year, analysts predict earnings per share of $13.71 for Zebra Technologies, with a current average target price of $357.44 among analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 978,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,500 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.90% of Zebra Technologies worth $276,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZBRA. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Zebra Technologies by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,307 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,910,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Zebra Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $396,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zebra Technologies Stock Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:ZBRA traded down $10.09 on Thursday, reaching $327.71. 604,799 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 655,559. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.03 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $316.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.33.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Zebra Technologies had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.18 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Zebra Technologies Corporation will post 13.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Zebra Technologies declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Zebra Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies from $320.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Zebra Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $408.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Zebra Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.44.

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.