State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 34.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,325 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 32,672 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $23,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,176,768 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,812,424,000 after purchasing an additional 44,279 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,319,631 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $895,494,000 after buying an additional 82,044 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $646,341,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of 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 worth $524,929,000 after acquiring an additional 395,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $395,298,000 after acquiring an additional 699,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $439.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $412.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $376.28. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.64 and a 52-week high of $448.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total value of $9,773,887.50. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,079,557.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.