Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 808 Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,364 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $5,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 261.0% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 8,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 345.3% in the 2nd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 13,948 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,865,000 after acquiring an additional 10,816 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth $257,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 101.5% during the 2nd quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 70,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after purchasing an additional 35,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the second quarter valued at about $333,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MSI shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $509.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (down previously from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.43.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total transaction of $24,175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,693,556. The trade was a 51.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 37,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.38, for a total transaction of $17,345,723.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 59,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,432,080.64. This trade represents a 38.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,128 shares of company stock valued at $70,431,641. 1.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Motorola Solutions Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:MSI opened at $372.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $371.56 and a 12 month high of $503.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $439.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $434.42.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 134.30% and a net margin of 19.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.99%.

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.