Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 15,491 Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 20.9%, acquiring an additional 15,491 shares, bringing its total holdings to 89,765 shares worth approximately $39.3 million.
• Major hedge funds have also significantly increased their positions in Motorola Solutions, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 43,787.3% during the first quarter.
• Motorola Solutions reported a quarterly EPS of $3.57, exceeding analyst expectations, while also announcing a dividend of $1.09 per share, yielding approximately 1.0% annually.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,765 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,491 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Motorola Solutions worth $39,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSI. ORG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Motorola Solutions by 346.2% in the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 58 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the first quarter worth $32,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Motorola Solutions in the first quarter worth $40,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 1,073 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.68, for a total transaction of $449,243.64. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 804 shares in the company, valued at $336,618.72. This represents a 57.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MSI. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $511.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.67.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 1.8%

MSI stock traded up $8.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $461.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,743. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.27. 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 $76.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.18, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.97. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $388.90 and a twelve month high of $507.82.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm earned $3.24 EPS. Motorola Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $1.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Motorola Solutions's payout ratio is presently 35.10%.

Motorola Solutions Profile

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.