Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Short Interest Update

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,320,000 shares, a decrease of 19.5% from the April 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 939,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Several research firms have issued reports on MSI. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 25th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on Motorola Solutions from $306.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Motorola Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, April 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $295.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $260.00 to $275.00 in a report on Thursday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $275.55.

In other Motorola Solutions news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 81,731 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.92, for a total transaction of $18,137,743.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.02, for a total value of $21,802,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,682 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 126 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 144 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,244 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 85.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MSI traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $206.03. 5,312 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,670. Motorola Solutions has a one year low of $196.09 and a one year high of $273.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.85.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 12th. The communications equipment provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Motorola Solutions had a negative return on equity of 633.02% and a net margin of 15.30%. Motorola Solutions’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Motorola Solutions will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.35%.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile (Get Rating)

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides mission critical communications and analytics 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.

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