DAVENPORT & Co LLC Boosts Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 107.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,372 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,952 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $5,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Community Bank increased its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 58 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $22,078,401.03. This represents a 51.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total transaction of $3,297,070.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 9,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,488,254.29. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 129,069 shares of company stock valued at $60,779,964 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of MSI opened at $449.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.96. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $359.36 and a 12 month high of $492.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $442.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.24. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 110.75% and a net margin of 18.44%.The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $499.00 price objective (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Motorola Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.14.

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.