National Pension Service Reduces Stock Position in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service significantly cut its stake in Zebra Technologies by 94.8% during the first quarter, reducing its holdings to just 4,650 shares, valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Zebra Technologies reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.61 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.31 and showing a 6.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $250 million share buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes its stock is currently undervalued.

National Pension Service decreased its position in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Free Report) by 94.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,650 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 84,239 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Zebra Technologies were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ZBRA. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Zebra Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,254,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,183,710 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $334,469,000 after purchasing an additional 255,193 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 5,704.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 259,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,286,000 after purchasing an additional 254,895 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies by 20,849.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 255,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,335,000 after purchasing an additional 254,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Zebra Technologies in the first quarter valued at $46,633,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Zebra Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of ZBRA stock opened at $317.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $316.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.01. Zebra Technologies Corporation has a 52 week low of $205.73 and a 52 week high of $427.76.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ZBRA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Zebra Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $301.00 price objective on shares of Zebra Technologies and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Zebra Technologies from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Zebra Technologies from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $342.00 price target (up previously from $280.00) on shares of Zebra Technologies in a report on Monday, July 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.44.

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.

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