LGT Group Foundation Reduces Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

LGT Group Foundation lowered its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,214 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,394 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $18,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,350,325 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $639,853,000 after buying an additional 37,718 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,155,597 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $674,896,000 after acquiring an additional 96,421 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,006,858 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $546,347,000 after acquiring an additional 8,514 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,841,890 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $501,436,000 after purchasing an additional 27,874 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,605,900 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $437,190,000 after purchasing an additional 36,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.38.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.4 %

Motorola Solutions stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $334.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 267,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,029. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.64 and a 52-week high of $355.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $342.82 and its 200 day moving average is $323.30. The company has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.91.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 17.12% and a return on equity of 441.65%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 39.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.