Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 24.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,383 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 77,108 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $101,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,885,593 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,202,016,000 after buying an additional 384,479 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,839,569,000 after acquiring an additional 51,474 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,374,532 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,477,404,000 after acquiring an additional 66,766 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 1.6% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,921,004 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,278,845,000 after purchasing an additional 47,368 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,043,914 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $894,846,000 after purchasing an additional 50,891 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $370.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $426.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $432.54. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $365.40 and a 12-month high of $503.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86.

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

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total value of $3,802,242.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,244 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,860,265.80. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total transaction of $24,175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 46,936 shares in the company, valued at $22,693,556. This represents a 51.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 110,614 shares of company stock worth $53,085,917 over the last 90 days. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSI. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $465.00 target price (down from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.50.

Motorola Solutions Profile

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.