21,316 Shares in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Acquired by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,316 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,695,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 280.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 551 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 137,629 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $43,090,000 after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSI. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, March 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $362.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.50.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE MSI traded up $17.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $353.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,151,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,940. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $269.64 and a one year high of $356.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $343.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $323.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $58.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.91.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 408.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.45%.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.30, for a total transaction of $1,585,919.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.