Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Decreases Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• Alphinity Investment Management cut its stake in Motorola Solutions by 15.6% in Q4, selling 154,964 shares and leaving it with 840,131 shares worth about $322 million (0.50% of the company and 3.3% of Alphinity's portfolio).
• Insider selling accelerated: CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares (~$3.3M) — a 42.35% reduction in her holding — and insiders have sold 129,069 shares worth ~$60.8M in the past 90 days (insiders now own 1.28%).
• Motorola beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.59 vs. $4.35; revenue $3.38B vs. $3.34B) and analysts remain largely positive, with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of $502.50.

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd decreased its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 840,131 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 154,964 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions makes up 3.3% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned 0.50% of Motorola Solutions worth $322,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the second quarter worth about $210,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 38.7% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 17.7% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 16,279 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $6,845,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the second quarter worth about $891,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total transaction of $3,297,070.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,254.29. This represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $470.12, for a total value of $204,032.08. Following the sale, the director owned 7,153 shares in the company, valued at $3,362,768.36. The trade was a 5.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 129,069 shares of company stock worth $60,779,964. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MSI shares. Argus upgraded Motorola Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $540.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $502.50.

Motorola Solutions Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $445.80 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $454.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.13. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $359.36 and a 52-week high of $492.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 110.75% and a net margin of 18.44%.Motorola Solutions's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.93%.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc is a provider of mission-critical communications and analytics solutions for public safety and commercial customers. The company designs, manufactures and supports a range of communications equipment and software aimed at enabling first responders, government agencies and enterprises to coordinate and operate reliably in high-pressure environments. Its offerings emphasize secure, resilient connectivity and situational awareness for organizations that require dependable voice, data and video communications.

Product lines include land mobile radio (LMR) systems and handheld and vehicle-mounted radios used by police, fire and emergency medical services; broadband push-to-talk and LTE-based solutions; command-and-control center software for incident management and records; and video security and analytics systems.

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