KBC Group NV Reduces Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its stake in Motorola Solutions by 31.8%, selling 21,585 shares to hold 46,276 shares worth about $17.74 million at quarter end.
• Other institutions boosted positions—Capital World Investors now owns 9,386,519 shares and SG Americas Securities increased its stake by 3,126.7%—leaving roughly 84.17% of MSI owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Motorola beat quarterly expectations with $4.59 EPS and $3.38B revenue, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.21 (1.1% yield), and has a consensus analyst rating of Buy with a $502.50 price target.

KBC Group NV reduced its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,276 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 21,585 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $17,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSI. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,386,519 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $4,292,310,000 after buying an additional 490,354 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 116.5% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 841,463 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $384,793,000 after buying an additional 452,822 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 56.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,203,661 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $550,422,000 after buying an additional 435,178 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,355,159 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $568,930,000 after buying an additional 353,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 3,126.7% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 297,925 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $114,201,000 after purchasing an additional 288,692 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE MSI opened at $441.44 on Friday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $359.36 and a 1 year high of $492.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $453.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $418.74.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 earnings per share 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 net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. Analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 20th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $499.00 target price (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $540.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $502.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total transaction of $3,297,070.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,488,254.29. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares of the firm'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 sale, the director owned 7,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,362,768.36. This trade represents a 5.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,069 shares of company stock worth $60,779,964. 1.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Motorola Solutions Company 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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