Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Stake Increased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC significantly increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 69.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 14,994 shares valued at approximately $6.57 million.
• Insider selling has occurred with CEO Gregory Brown and COO John P. Molloy divesting 82,765 and 37,514 shares, respectively, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Despite positive earnings results, Motorola Solutions announced a reduced quarterly dividend of $0.0109 per share, reflecting a significant change in its dividend policy.

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 69.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,994 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,168 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $6,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.2% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 228.9% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,367 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,663,000 after buying an additional 5,823 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $874,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,344 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSI shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $511.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $516.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 82,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.05, for a total value of $38,324,333.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 57,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,780,959.80. This represents a 58.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 37,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.38, for a total transaction of $17,345,723.32. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 59,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,432,080.64. The trade was a 38.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,793 shares of company stock worth $79,801,547. Insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 0.8%

MSI stock opened at $481.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $80.29 billion, a PE ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $446.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $428.92. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $388.90 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.36 by $0.21. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 19.08% and a return on equity of 134.30%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.24 EPS. Motorola Solutions's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Motorola Solutions has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.820-3.870 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 14.880-14.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0109 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. Motorola Solutions's payout ratio is presently 35.10%.

Motorola Solutions Company 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.

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