Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $452.22 and last traded at $452.00, with a volume of 72915 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $450.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MSI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $466.17.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $432.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $390.54. The firm has a market cap of $77.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.60, a PEG ratio of 3.90 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 337.36% and a net margin of 14.04%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,079,557.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.