ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Position in Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Zebra Technologies Co. (NASDAQ:ZBRA) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,598 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Zebra Technologies were worth $7,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ZBRA. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 1,100.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 60 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 92.5% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 60.2% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 149 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Zebra Technologies by 130.2% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 122 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Zebra Technologies during the third quarter valued at $59,000. 91.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Colleen M. O’sullivan sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.36, for a total transaction of $37,713.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,548,492.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ZBRA. Barclays started coverage on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $292.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Zebra Technologies from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $337.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Zebra Technologies in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Zebra Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.64.

Zebra Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ZBRA traded down $4.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $268.07. 351,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,313. Zebra Technologies Co. has a 1-year low of $194.59 and a 1-year high of $320.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $284.42 and a 200-day moving average of $252.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.95 and a beta of 1.79.

Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ:ZBRA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.09. Zebra Technologies had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Zebra Technologies Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.