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

Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $358.86.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $362.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of MSI opened at $386.05 on Monday. Motorola Solutions has a 12 month low of $269.64 and a 12 month high of $391.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $365.62 and its 200-day moving average is $342.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16. The firm has a market cap of $64.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.96.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.29. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 398.16%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Equities analysts expect that Motorola Solutions will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In related news, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.09, for a total value of $290,052.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,650,156.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.09, for a total transaction of $290,052.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,650,156.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 2,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.68, for a total transaction of $927,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $403,625.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,389 shares of company stock worth $3,446,461 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSI. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 839,123 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $260,204,000 after purchasing an additional 17,807 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,237 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,278 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 20,036 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after acquiring an additional 4,594 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 57,227 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,917,000 after acquiring an additional 6,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 430.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 90,543 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,347,000 after acquiring an additional 73,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.