Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 25,537 Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its stake in Motorola Solutions by 7.7%, now holding 306,373 shares after selling 25,537 shares.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions, while insider sales included COO John P. Molloy selling 37,514 shares at an average price of $462.38.
• Motorola Solutions reported a quarterly earnings surpassing expectations with $3.57 EPS, along with announced adjustments to its dividend, now set at $0.0109 per share.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lowered its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,373 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 25,537 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions makes up approximately 1.2% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned approximately 0.18% of Motorola Solutions worth $128,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.4% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 471 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 692 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 185 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,079 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $511.00 to $509.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO John P. Molloy sold 37,514 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total transaction of $825,231.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,059,123.06. The trade was a 10.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 248,493 shares of company stock worth $116,848,278 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company's stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 1.2%

MSI opened at $453.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $388.90 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $462.30 and its 200 day moving average is $434.16. The stock has a market cap of $75.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.97.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.57 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.24 EPS. Motorola Solutions's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Cuts Dividend

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

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.

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