Merit Financial Group LLC Has $536,000 Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,712 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSI. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 18,864 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $5,136,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 15,442 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,204,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,984 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $8,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 10,019 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

MSI opened at $358.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.91. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.64 and a 52-week high of $358.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average is $344.39 and its 200-day moving average is $325.32.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 398.16% and a net margin of 13.64%. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.30, for a total transaction of $1,585,919.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $355.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $362.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.43.

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.