Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,782 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 289.5% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 148.6% during the second quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 87 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3,300.0% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 102 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other Motorola Solutions news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total transaction of $24,175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,693,556. This represents a 51.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total transaction of $825,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,059,123.06. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,600 shares of company stock valued at $37,476,175. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $377.48 on Wednesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $365.40 and a 52 week high of $500.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The stock has a market cap of $62.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $418.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $431.37.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.21. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 19.08% and a return on equity of 134.30%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $1.21 dividend. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research raised Motorola Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $509.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.00.

Motorola Solutions 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.