Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Shares Sold by Vista Investment Partners II LLC

Key Points

• Vista Investment Partners II LLC cut its stake in Motorola Solutions by 73.7% in Q4, selling 3,643 shares and leaving 1,301 shares valued at $499,000, while institutional investors still own about 84.17% of the company.
• Senior insiders have been selling heavily: CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares for roughly $23.4 million, and insiders have disposed of 129,069 shares (~$60.78 million) over the past three months (insiders now own 1.44%).
• Motorola beat quarterly expectations with $4.59 EPS (vs. $4.35 est.) and revenue of $3.38 billion, analysts remain largely bullish with a consensus price target of about $502.50, and the company recently announced a $1.21 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.84, ~1.1% yield).

Vista Investment Partners II LLC decreased its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 73.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,301 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 3,643 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners II LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,171,959 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $10,139,015,000 after acquiring an additional 286,366 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings 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 worth $4,292,310,000 after buying an additional 490,354 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,433,482 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,570,096,000 after buying an additional 31,744 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $568,930,000 after buying an additional 353,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,345,492 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $615,280,000 after buying an additional 227,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.09, for a total transaction of $23,404,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,078,401.03. The trade was a 51.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,529 shares in the company, valued at $4,488,254.29. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,069 shares of company stock worth $60,779,964. 1.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE MSI opened at $442.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.99. 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 50-day moving average of $450.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.60. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.36 and a 1-year high of $492.22.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 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 quarter last year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a $1.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Motorola Solutions's payout ratio is currently 37.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $540.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $499.00 price target (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $502.50.

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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