Fayez Sarofim & Co Raises Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) by 15.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,485 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 207 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Motorola Solutions from $306.00 to $303.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 10th. TheStreet raised Motorola Solutions from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Credit Suisse Group cut Motorola Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Edward Jones cut Motorola Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.80.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 1,500 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.33, for a total value of $399,495.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,001.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 26,933 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.25, for a total value of $7,305,576.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,058,517.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 1,500 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.33, for a total value of $399,495.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,313 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,001.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,167 shares of company stock worth $10,066,483. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

MSI opened at $266.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $252.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.90, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.18 and a 1 year high of $275.16. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.92.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.17. Motorola Solutions had a negative return on equity of 663.73% and a net margin of 14.96%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Motorola Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 44.39%.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

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Motorola Solutions, Inc is engaged in the provision of communication infrastructure, devices, accessories, software, and services. It operates through the following segments: Products & Systems Integration and Software & Services. The Products & Systems Integration segment offers an extensive portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, video security devices and infrastructure, and the implementation and integration of such systems, devices, and applications.