Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 238,556 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,827 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $109,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSI. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. United Community Bank increased its position in Motorola Solutions by 81.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of MSI opened at $457.75 on Tuesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.36 and a 1-year high of $492.22. The stock has a market cap of $75.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 37.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MSI shares. Argus raised shares of Motorola Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Motorola Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $499.00 target price (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.14.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $470.12, for a total transaction of $204,032.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,362,768.36. This represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.09, for a total value of $23,404,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,078,401.03. This trade represents a 51.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,069 shares of company stock worth $60,779,964 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

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.