Rice Partnership LLC Grows Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Rice Partnership LLC grew its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,031 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Motorola Solutions comprises approximately 2.2% of Rice Partnership LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $10,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSI. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,179,834 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $9,789,955,000 after buying an additional 310,919 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,187,217 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,933,360,000 after purchasing an additional 451,172 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,030,915 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,400,980,000 after purchasing an additional 334,639 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,073,645,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,868,559 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $863,704,000 after acquiring an additional 256,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 1,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,618.72. This trade represents a 57.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSI. Barclays lowered their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $527.00 to $511.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Motorola Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.25.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

NYSE MSI traded up $1.36 on Monday, reaching $426.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 610,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,934. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.17 and a 52 week high of $507.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $417.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $433.72. The firm has a market cap of $71.14 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 160.93%. Motorola Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $1.09 dividend. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is 36.39%.

About Motorola Solutions

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.