Ascent Group LLC Sells 122 Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Ascent Group LLC lessened its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,489 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSI. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,319,631 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $895,494,000 after purchasing an additional 82,044 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,530,660 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $590,911,000 after buying an additional 110,072 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 215.7% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $395,298,000 after buying an additional 699,615 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 993,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $383,614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 967,604 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $435,064,000 after acquiring an additional 965,972 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSI. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $425.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $506.29.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.2 %

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $497.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.53, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.25. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $307.09 and a 52 week high of $507.82.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.36. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 251.96% and a net margin of 14.65%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.94%.

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.