Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Stock: Kestra Advisory Services LLC Increases Position

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,677 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,448 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $8,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aristotle Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 1st quarter worth about $983,432,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Motorola Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $374,617,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 34.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,381,506 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $599,532,000 after acquiring an additional 352,679 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 4.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,849,952 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,269,332,000 after acquiring an additional 323,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $112,734,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $526.89 on Wednesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.36 and a 1-year high of $548.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $469.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.42 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 94.49%. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.94%.

More Motorola Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Motorola Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Motorola Solutions beat Q3 earnings expectations, raised its guidance and reported a record backlog. Its shares gained roughly 7% following the results, contrasting with a sharp post-earnings decline for competitor Axon. Axon vs. Motorola: Which Public Safety Stock Has More Upside After Q3 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Several senior leaders reported selling shares in transactions on November 6 and 9. CEO Gregory Brown sold about 70,800 shares, while the CFO, COO and multiple senior vice presidents also reported sales—about 141,000 shares combined. Such sizable insider selling can concern investors, though the filings alone do not establish the reason for the sales. CEO Form 4 filing CFO Form 4 filing COO Form 4 filing

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In related news, SVP James Niewiara sold 2,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.35, for a total value of $1,089,622.10. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,610,195.30. This represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John Molloy sold 40,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.45, for a total transaction of $21,083,189.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 69,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,666,818.50. This represents a 37.15% 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 156,418 shares of company stock valued at $80,087,836. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $550.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $525.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $530.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Northcoast Research raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $510.00 to $525.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $533.00 target price (up from $531.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.70.

Motorola Solutions Profile

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides communications, software, video security and related services for public safety agencies and commercial and industrial organizations. Its products include two-way radios and land mobile radio systems, dispatch consoles, command center software, video surveillance systems and access control technology. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers coordinate communications, manage incidents and support security operations. Motorola Solutions also provides services such as system integration, maintenance and technical support.