American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,666 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,048 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $18,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $395,298,000 after purchasing an additional 699,615 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $178,361,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 428.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 501,601 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $193,798,000 after buying an additional 406,638 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 36.5% during the first quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,478,757 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $524,929,000 after acquiring an additional 395,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1,477.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 358,206 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,149,000 after purchasing an additional 335,496 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Motorola Solutions news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total value of $9,773,887.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at $19,079,557.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $442.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $418.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $380.81. The firm has a market cap of $73.82 billion, a PE ratio of 54.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.97. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $269.64 and a one year high of $448.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.04% and a return on equity of 337.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $372.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $466.17.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce.