Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Shares Sold by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,596 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 80,198 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $31,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,885,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,202,016,000 after acquiring an additional 384,479 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,839,569,000 after purchasing an additional 51,474 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 2.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,374,532 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,477,404,000 after purchasing an additional 66,766 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,921,004 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,278,845,000 after purchasing an additional 47,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,043,914 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $894,846,000 after purchasing an additional 50,891 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $366.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $365.75 and a 1-year high of $503.62. The company has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $434.95 and a 200-day moving average of $433.51.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.21. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.99%.

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In other Motorola Solutions news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total value of $24,175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,693,556. This represents a 51.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total value of $3,802,242.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,860,265.80. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 110,614 shares of company stock valued at $53,085,917. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

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.