Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Hits New 12-Month High at $314.71

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $314.71 and last traded at $313.28, with a volume of 47265 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $312.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $329.00 to $322.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com cut Motorola Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America began coverage on Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.57.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.51, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $284.93 and a 200-day moving average of $285.66. The company has a market capitalization of $52.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The communications equipment provider reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.03 by $0.16. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 17.30% and a return on equity of 668.00%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.59%.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 5,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $1,790,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 5,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $1,790,100.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,680. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jason J. Winkler sold 5,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.29, for a total transaction of $1,726,720.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,055,212.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,506 shares of company stock worth $23,359,370. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3,633.3% during the second quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 112 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1,140.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 124 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.