Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board has increased its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. by 0.9%, now holding approximately $85.42 million worth of shares.
• Motorola Solutions reported $3.57 earnings per share for the last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations and represented a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend payout was $1.09 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.0%, with a dividend payout ratio of 36.39%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 195,106 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.12% of Motorola Solutions worth $85,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,392 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 21,489 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,931,000 after purchasing an additional 7,765 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $2,513,000 after buying an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter worth $4,498,000. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays set a $509.00 target price on Motorola Solutions and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $512.67.

Motorola Solutions Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Motorola Solutions stock traded down $8.20 on Thursday, hitting $462.00. 976,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 913,042. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $388.90 and a 52 week high of $507.82. The company has a market cap of $76.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $424.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.36 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.74 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 19.08% and a return on equity of 134.30%. Motorola Solutions's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In other news, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 1,073 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.68, for a total value of $449,243.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $336,618.72. The trade was a 57.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Motorola Solutions 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.