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

Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $495.00.

MSI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $509.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Northcoast Research raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $465.00 price target (down previously from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, December 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total value of $825,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,059,123.06. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total value of $24,175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 76,700 shares of company stock worth $37,046,731. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 261.0% in the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 8,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 5,837 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 345.3% in the second quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 13,948 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,865,000 after buying an additional 10,816 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $257,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $333,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 101.5% in the second quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 70,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after purchasing an additional 35,374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $374.23 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $430.28. Motorola Solutions has a 12-month low of $365.40 and a 12-month high of $495.00. The firm has a market cap of $62.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.59.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 118.48%. Motorola Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Motorola Solutions will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.99%.

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.