12,293 Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services cut its Motorola Solutions stake by 21.4%, selling 12,293 shares in the third quarter; it retained 45,254 shares worth about $20.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 12 of 13 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, with an average price target of $545.70.
• Motorola Solutions beat quarterly estimates, reporting $4.69 per share versus expectations of $4.42 and revenue of $3.38 billion, up 12.2% year over year.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 21.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,254 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 12,293 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $20,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSI. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 632 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 780 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 16.4% during the second quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 185 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.4% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 847 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $530.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $550.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $545.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Motorola Solutions from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $545.70.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 14,220 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.22, for a total value of $6,899,828.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 66,648 shares in the company, valued at $32,338,942.56. This represents a 17.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathryn Moore sold 1,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.96, for a total value of $478,867.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,282 shares in the company, valued at $611,462.72. This trade represents a 43.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:MSI opened at $528.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $442.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.13. The firm has a market cap of $87.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $359.36 and a 12 month high of $548.28.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.42 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 99.35%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.91 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $1.21 dividend. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.94%.

Motorola Solutions Profile

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.

Motorola Solutions serves customers around the world.

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