AlphaQuest LLC Has $76,000 Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stock position in Motorola Solutions by 96.4%, now holding just 174 shares worth $76,000 after selling 4,655 shares.
• Motorola Solutions COO and CEO have both sold significant amounts of stock, with COO John P. Molloy selling 37,514 shares for over $17 million and CEO Gregory Q. Brown selling 25,000 shares for about $11.8 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Motorola Solutions, with Evercore ISI recently increasing their target price from $500 to $525.

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 96.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 4,655 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Motorola Solutions by 5.4% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 471 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 636 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 17.1% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 185 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 2.7% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,079 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $511.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $516.13.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of MSI traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $477.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 415,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,844. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $442.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.81. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $388.90 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.36 by $0.21. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 19.08% and a return on equity of 134.30%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.24 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. On average, research analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,265.80. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 37,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 59,328 shares in the company, valued at $27,432,080.64. The trade was a 38.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 170,893 shares of company stock valued at $79,372,103. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.