Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Trims Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 210,516 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 37,573 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions comprises about 1.9% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $97,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 2.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,454,643 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,358,848,000 after buying an additional 198,183 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,736,045 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,675,588,000 after purchasing an additional 89,320 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $1,528,949,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,287,296 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $595,026,000 after purchasing an additional 100,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,026,996 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $474,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,040 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MSI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $529.00 to $527.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.88.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $413.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $451.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.45. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $332.98 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The firm has a market cap of $69.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.85 by ($0.10). Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 197.59%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 47.29%.

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.