American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,831 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,736 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Motorola Solutions worth $134,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,556 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,045 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $20,159,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,843 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,747,000 after buying an additional 4,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 44,058 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $19,289,000 after buying an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

MSI opened at $367.90 on Tuesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $365.40 and a 12 month high of $503.62. The company has a market cap of $61.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $430.37 and a 200 day moving average of $433.23.

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

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 38.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total transaction of $3,802,242.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,265.80. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 46,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,693,556. The trade was a 51.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 110,614 shares of company stock valued at $53,085,917 in the last quarter. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.