Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a decrease of 22.9% from the March 15th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 984,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.
In other news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.02, for a total value of $21,802,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 81,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.92, for a total transaction of $18,137,743.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,409 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $212,900,000 after buying an additional 83,513 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 294.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,323,000 after buying an additional 7,467 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $102,748,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Toews Corp ADV purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $418,000. 85.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSI shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $260.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $265.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 10th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $306.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $269.18.
Shares of MSI stock traded down $2.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $230.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,865. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.92. Motorola Solutions has a 12-month low of $184.54 and a 12-month high of $273.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.88.
Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 9th. The communications equipment provider reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.10. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 15.24% and a negative return on equity of 542.03%. The business had revenue of $2.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.73 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Motorola Solutions will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.13%.
Motorola Solutions Company Profile (Get Rating)
Motorola Solutions, Inc provides mission critical communications and analytics 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.
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