Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Holdings Increased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,504 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $2,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,918 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 11,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,870 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,362,000 after acquiring an additional 3,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.38.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

MSI stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $340.29. 252,822 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 612,187. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.64 and a twelve month high of $355.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The company has a market capitalization of $56.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.90.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 441.65% and a net margin of 17.12%. Motorola Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 39.48%.

Insider Activity

In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.