Altshuler Shaham Ltd Decreases Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd reduced its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,757 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,833 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions makes up about 0.1% of Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,283,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,193,146 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $324,614,000 after acquiring an additional 482,023 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,388,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 1,208.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 191,611 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $59,991,000 after purchasing an additional 176,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 333,697 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,846,000 after acquiring an additional 126,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $362.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.43.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MSI stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $360.27. The company had a trading volume of 526,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,761. The company has a market capitalization of $60.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.91. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.64 and a twelve month high of $361.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 398.16% and a net margin of 13.64%. Motorola Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 2,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.68, for a total transaction of $927,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,138 shares in the company, valued at $403,625.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,169 shares of company stock valued at $2,803,460. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.