Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Sets New 1-Year High at $320.20

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $320.20 and last traded at $319.76, with a volume of 73857 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $319.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MSI shares. StockNews.com cut Motorola Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 11th. Raymond James raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Motorola Solutions from $320.00 to $311.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $330.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.57.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $287.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.51, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 5,850 shares of Motorola Solutions 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,156,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Motorola Solutions news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 65,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.27, for a total transaction of $19,842,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,958,793.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 5,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $1,790,100.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,156,680. 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. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 23.6% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 183 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.1% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 275 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 9.4% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 444 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.0% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 4.7% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 887 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% 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.