Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $365.40 and last traded at $367.8970, with a volume of 2567299 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $368.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $465.00 target price (down from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $502.50.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The company has a market capitalization of $61.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $426.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $432.54.

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

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total transaction of $825,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,059,123.06. The trade was a 10.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 46,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,693,556. This represents a 51.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 110,614 shares of company stock worth $53,085,917. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Obermeyer Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 261.0% in the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 8,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its position in 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 during the second quarter valued at $257,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the second quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 101.5% during the second 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

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.