Comerica Bank Reduces Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in Motorola Solutions by 18.4% in Q4, selling 8,406 shares and leaving it with 37,299 shares worth about $14.3 million.
• Motorola beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $4.59 vs. $4.35 and revenue of $3.38 billion (up 12.3% YoY), and analysts are largely bullish with a consensus target of about $502.50.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently—CEO Gregory Brown sold 28,435 shares (~$13.6M) and insiders sold 129,069 shares (~$60.8M) in the past 90 days—while the company pays a $1.21 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield).

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,299 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 8,406 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $14,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSI. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. United Community Bank increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 58 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 86 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $435.26 on Wednesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $359.36 and a 52-week high of $492.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $453.16 and a 200-day moving average of $417.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 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. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.25 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $470.12, for a total transaction of $204,032.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,362,768.36. This represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 28,435 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.95, for a total transaction of $13,590,508.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,360,101.95. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 129,069 shares of company stock valued at $60,779,964 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSI shares. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $499.00 price objective (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of 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 company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Motorola Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $502.50.

Motorola Solutions Profile

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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