Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 874 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $5,596,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. now owns 123 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $226,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 150.9% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 12,787 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 7,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $621,000. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $338.58 on Tuesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $355.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $338.23 and its 200 day moving average is $318.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its quarterly 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. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 441.65% and a net margin of 17.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.38.

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.