Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 81,878 Shares of Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC has increased its stake in Zebra Technologies by 29.5%, acquiring an additional 81,878 shares, bringing its total holdings to 359,579 shares worth approximately $101.6 million.
• Zebra Technologies reported an EPS of $3.61 for the recent quarter, surpassing expectations of $3.31, with a revenue of $1.29 billion that matches analysts' forecasts.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase program authorized for $250 million, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 359,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 81,878 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned about 0.71% of Zebra Technologies worth $101,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 112.9% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 29,092 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,220,000 after purchasing an additional 15,429 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,866 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 365 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,044,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Zebra Technologies Trading Up 2.9%

Zebra Technologies stock opened at $337.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $315.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.46. Zebra Technologies Corporation has a one year low of $205.73 and a one year high of $427.76. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Zebra Technologies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ZBRA shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $342.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zebra Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Zebra Technologies from $320.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Zebra Technologies from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zebra Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.

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