Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $479.50.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $453.89 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $450.93 and a 200 day moving average of $404.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03. The stock has a market cap of $75.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.97. Motorola Solutions has a 12 month low of $276.45 and a 12 month high of $480.28.

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

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,079,557.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 967,604 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $435,064,000 after purchasing an additional 965,972 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 215.7% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $395,298,000 after acquiring an additional 699,615 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 38,505.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 696,434 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $268,858,000 after acquiring an additional 694,630 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $193,798,000 after acquiring an additional 406,638 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,478,757 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $524,929,000 after acquiring an additional 395,096 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

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.