Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Stock: Insider John Molloy Sells 40,982 Shares

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) COO John Molloy sold 40,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.45, for a total transaction of $21,083,189.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 69,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,666,818.50. This trade represents a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock opened at $535.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.36 and a 1-year high of $548.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $470.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.85.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 94.49%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Northcoast Research boosted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $510.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $476.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Motorola Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.70.

Motorola Solutions News Roundup

These are some of the MSI news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Motorola Solutions beat third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, raised its guidance and reported a record backlog. Shares rose about 7% after the results, supporting the recent move to a 52-week high. Axon vs. Motorola: Which Public Safety Stock Has More Upside After Q3 Earnings? Motorola Solutions Reaches a Fresh 52-Week High
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives sold shares in transactions on November 6 and 9. CEO Gregory Brown sold about 70,800 shares; the CFO and COO also made sizable sales, alongside SVP sales including a roughly $1.1 million transaction. The scale of these sales could weigh on sentiment, although the filings do not explain the reasons. Motorola Solutions Insider Trades Motorola Solutions Insider Sells $1.1 Million in Stock

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aristotle Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $983,432,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $374,617,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 34.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 4.3% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Motorola Solutions during the first quarter valued at approximately $112,734,000. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Motorola Solutions

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.