Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC cut its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 77.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,034 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 115,412 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $14,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the first quarter valued at $1,052,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.5% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,900 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $22,254,000 after purchasing an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the first quarter valued at about $10,657,000. BNP Paribas grew its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 10.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 29,636 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,307,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares during the period. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the first quarter worth about $2,204,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Northcoast Research upped their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $525.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Zacks Research lowered Motorola Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $545.70.

Key Headlines Impacting Motorola Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Motorola Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Motorola Solutions beat Q3 earnings expectations, raised its guidance and reported a record backlog. Its shares gained roughly 7% following the results, contrasting with a sharp post-earnings decline for competitor Axon. Axon vs. Motorola: Which Public Safety Stock Has More Upside After Q3 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior leaders reported selling shares in transactions on November 6 and 9. CEO Gregory Brown sold about 70,800 shares, while the CFO, COO and multiple senior vice presidents also reported sales—about 141,000 shares combined. Such sizable insider selling can concern investors, though the filings alone do not establish the reason for the sales. CEO Form 4 filing CFO Form 4 filing COO Form 4 filing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO John P. Molloy sold 40,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.45, for a total transaction of $21,083,189.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 69,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,666,818.50. The trade was a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory Brown sold 70,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.14, for a total transaction of $36,390,829.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,328,613.66. This represents a 51.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,418 shares of company stock valued at $80,087,836. Corporate insiders own 1.28% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE MSI opened at $526.89 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $469.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $443.19. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $359.36 and a one year high of $548.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $87.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 94.49% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were given a $1.21 dividend. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 38.94%.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides communications, software, video security and related services for public safety agencies and commercial and industrial organizations. Its products include two-way radios and land mobile radio systems, dispatch consoles, command center software, video surveillance systems and access control technology. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers coordinate communications, manage incidents and support security operations. Motorola Solutions also provides services such as system integration, maintenance and technical support.