Aberdeen Group plc Grows Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. by 5.9%, owning approximately 146,368 shares valued at $61.37 million following the acquisition of an additional 8,188 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Motorola Solutions reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.57 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.21, and revenue of $2.77 billion, marking a 5.2% year-over-year increase.
• Insider selling was notable, with significant shares sold by executives, including COO John P. Molloy, who offloaded 37,514 shares, reducing his ownership by 38.74% in the process.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,368 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,188 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.09% of Motorola Solutions worth $61,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,501,114 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,413,403,000 after acquiring an additional 321,280 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 66,766 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.6% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,921,004 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,278,845,000 after buying an additional 47,368 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,043,914 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $894,846,000 after buying an additional 50,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,969,450 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $862,245,000 after buying an additional 100,891 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.4%

MSI opened at $456.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The firm has a market cap of $75.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.97. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $388.90 and a 52 week high of $507.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $464.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $435.31.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by $0.21. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 134.30% and a net margin of 19.08%.The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Motorola Solutions has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.820-3.870 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 14.880-14.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.0109 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,860,265.80. This trade represents a 43.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 37,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.38, for a total value of $17,345,723.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 59,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,432,080.64. This trade represents a 38.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 248,493 shares of company stock valued at $116,848,278 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSI shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays dropped their price target on Motorola Solutions from $511.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $495.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.78.

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.

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