Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) SVP James Niewiara Sells 180 Shares of Company Stock

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) SVP James Niewiara sold 180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.16, for a total transaction of $92,728.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Motorola Solutions Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $526.89 on Wednesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $359.36 and a 12-month high of $548.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $469.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03.

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

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories 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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.7% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.6% in the third quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 632 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.7% in the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 780 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,779 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MSI. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $476.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Motorola Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $533.00 price objective (up from $531.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $530.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $529.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.70.

About Motorola Solutions

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.