Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Stock: Insider Rajan Naik Sells 10,005 Shares

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) SVP Rajan Naik sold 10,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.43, for a total value of $5,126,862.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,563 shares in the company, valued at $6,437,658.09. The trade was a 44.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 1.5%

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $535.30 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $470.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. The firm has a market cap of $88.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $359.36 and a 52 week high of $548.28.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $35,718,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 17.8% during the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 11,642.7% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 11,273 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,027,000 after purchasing an additional 11,177 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the third quarter valued at $411,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 51.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,591 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $530.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $545.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Motorola Solutions from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Northcoast Research lifted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $545.70.

Key Headlines Impacting Motorola Solutions

Investors following MSI have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Motorola Solutions beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, raised its guidance and reported a record backlog. Shares rose about 7% after the results, supporting the recent move to a 52-week high. Axon vs. Motorola: Which Public Safety Stock Has More Upside After Q3 Earnings? Motorola Solutions Reaches a Fresh 52-Week High
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives sold shares in transactions on November 6 and 9. CEO Gregory Brown sold about 70,800 shares; the CFO and COO also made sizable sales, alongside SVP sales including a roughly $1.1 million transaction. The scale of these sales could weigh on sentiment, although the filings do not explain the reasons. Motorola Solutions Insider Trades Motorola Solutions Insider Sells $1.1 Million in Stock

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.