Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 85.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,049 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 253,763 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $16,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 7,060 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 166.1% in the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 149 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at $1,335,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 1,646.2% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 454 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 284,418 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $108,295,000 after purchasing an additional 12,877 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $449.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $442.52 and a 200 day moving average of $422.49. The firm has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.96. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $359.36 and a 1 year high of $492.22.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted 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. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSI. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Motorola Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.14.

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.09, for a total transaction of $23,404,500.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total value of $3,297,070.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,488,254.29. The trade was a 42.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 129,069 shares of company stock valued at $60,779,964 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.