Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has decreased its holdings in Zebra Technologies by 30% during the first quarter, now owning 5,428 shares valued at approximately $1.53 million.
• Zebra Technologies has initiated a $250 million share buyback plan indicating management's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.
• The company reported $3.61 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 6.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its holdings in shares of Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,324 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Zebra Technologies were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Zebra Technologies by 8.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 33.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,236,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 1.9% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies by 6.3% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 21,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,024,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company's stock.

Zebra Technologies Stock Performance

ZBRA stock traded up $9.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $337.80. 499,073 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 596,547. Zebra Technologies Corporation has a 52-week low of $205.73 and a 52-week high of $427.76. The stock 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 current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock's 50-day moving average is $314.35 and its 200 day moving average is $298.55.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Zebra Technologies Corporation will post 13.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Zebra Technologies from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Zebra Technologies from $425.00 to $410.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Zebra Technologies from $269.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Zebra Technologies from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $408.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Zebra Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.