Values First Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 164 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,319,631 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $895,494,000 after purchasing an additional 82,044 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,530,660 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,911,000 after buying an additional 110,072 shares during the period. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 36.5% during the first quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,478,757 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $524,929,000 after buying an additional 395,096 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $395,298,000 after buying an additional 699,615 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 993,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $383,614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of MSI opened at $462.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $447.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $399.97. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $271.73 and a fifty-two week high of $480.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.14, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.97.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.23. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 337.36% and a net margin of 14.04%. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total value of $9,773,887.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,079,557.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.50.

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.