Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $80.92 Million Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 209,621 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,918 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $80,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 127.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 601 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,156 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $14,344,000 after acquiring an additional 6,693 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 255,005 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $94,450,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,860 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 1.1 %

MSI stock opened at $442.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16. The firm has a market cap of $73.73 billion, a PE ratio of 54.64, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.94. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $443.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $402.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $368.29.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 378.15% and a net margin of 14.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 5,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.81, for a total transaction of $1,971,473.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,939 shares in the company, valued at $3,341,487.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,079,557.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,949 shares of company stock valued at $12,002,807 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSI has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $457.40.

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.