Erste Asset Management GmbH Raises Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 170.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,045 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,883 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $18,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 81.3% in the third quarter. United Community Bank now owns 58 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Motorola Solutions

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced: Motorola declared a $1.21 quarterly dividend (record March 20; pay April 15), implying a ~1.0% yield. Small recurring cash return and signal of capital-return policy stability.
• Negative Sentiment: Large CEO insider selling — Gregory Q. Brown: recent SEC filings show multiple sizable sales, including 50,000 shares (~$23.4M, Feb. 24) and additional blocks on Feb. 25–26 (see filings). These trades reduced his holdings materially and may weigh on sentiment given the scale. CEO 50,000-share sale filing CEO additional sale filing CEO sales filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insider sales: CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares (~$3.3M) and director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares (~$204k) in late-February filings — further insider supply hitting the market. Cynthia Yazdi filing Kenneth Denman filing
• Negative Sentiment: Press coverage flagged the CEO’s sales (summary article). Media attention on large insider disposal can amplify negative investor reaction even if sales are for diversification or liquidity. Insider selling article

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut Motorola Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $499.00 target price (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.14.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:MSI opened at $481.37 on Friday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $359.36 and a 52-week high of $492.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $411.12 and a 200 day moving average of $422.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.00.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.24. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 110.75% and a net margin of 18.44%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 37.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total transaction of $3,297,070.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,488,254.29. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 21,600 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.53, for a total value of $10,141,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,580 shares in the company, valued at $10,132,457.40. This trade represents a 50.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 100,634 shares of company stock worth $47,189,456 in the last quarter. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Motorola Solutions Profile

Motorola Solutions, Inc is a provider of mission-critical communications and analytics solutions for public safety and commercial customers. The company designs, manufactures and supports a range of communications equipment and software aimed at enabling first responders, government agencies and enterprises to coordinate and operate reliably in high-pressure environments. Its offerings emphasize secure, resilient connectivity and situational awareness for organizations that require dependable voice, data and video communications.

Product lines include land mobile radio (LMR) systems and handheld and vehicle-mounted radios used by police, fire and emergency medical services; broadband push-to-talk and LTE-based solutions; command-and-control center software for incident management and records; and video security and analytics systems.