Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Position Trimmed by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management trimmed its Motorola Solutions stake by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,753 shares and leaving it with 56,331 shares valued at about $21.6 million.
• Motorola Solutions announced a $1.5 billion acquisition of D-Fend Solutions, a counter-drone systems specialist, a move aimed at expanding its airspace protection and security technology offerings.
• The stock rose 2.2% on the acquisition news, while analysts remained broadly positive with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $504.67.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,331 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 12,753 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $21,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $942,542,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 11,507.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,192,196 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $456,993,000 after buying an additional 1,181,925 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,338,589 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $513,108,000 after buying an additional 570,712 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 5.5% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,386,519 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $4,292,310,000 after buying an additional 490,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,203,661 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $550,422,000 after purchasing an additional 435,178 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $506.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Motorola Solutions from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $499.00 to $503.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $504.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Motorola Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Motorola Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Motorola Solutions said it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire D-Fend Solutions, a leader in counter-drone systems, for $1.5 billion, strengthening its portfolio in airspace protection and adjacent security technologies. Motorola Solutions to Acquire D-Fend Solutions, an Industry Leader in Counter-Drone Systems
• Positive Sentiment: D-Fend brings field-proven technology with thousands of deployments across 30+ countries and revenue growth above 50% over the last three years, suggesting Motorola Solutions is buying into a fast-expanding market with commercial and government demand. Motorola Solutions to buy D-Fend Solutions for $1.5 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from market outlets noted MSI shares moved higher on the acquisition news, indicating investors see the deal as accretive to Motorola Solutions’ growth story and long-term product mix. Motorola Solutions Buys D-Fend For $1.5 Billion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained broadly constructive, with Motorola Solutions receiving an average “Buy” rating, reinforcing generally favorable sentiment but not directly driving the stock move today. Motorola Solutions, Inc. Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $412.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $427.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $414.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.89. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $359.36 and a 12-month high of $492.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.28.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 17.61% and a return on equity of 100.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.18 EPS. Motorola Solutions has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 3.820-3.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 16.870-16.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Motorola Solutions news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 28,435 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.95, for a total transaction of $13,590,508.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 90,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,360,101.95. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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