AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 0.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 156,202 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $60,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSI. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 67 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.0% during the second quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,228 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,910 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,350 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at $19,079,557.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $446.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.45 billion, a PE ratio of 55.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $423.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $383.98. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $452.00.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $372.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $466.17.

About Motorola Solutions

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.