Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Raises Dividend to $1.21 Per Share

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of 1.21 per share by the communications equipment provider on Thursday, January 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a 11,000.9% increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01.

Motorola Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Motorola Solutions has a payout ratio of 27.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Motorola Solutions to earn $14.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.5%.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MSI opened at $371.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $439.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.42. Motorola Solutions has a 12 month low of $369.88 and a 12 month high of $503.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 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 $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.74 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Motorola Solutions will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total value of $3,802,242.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,265.80. The trade was a 43.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total transaction of $825,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,542 shares in the company, valued at $7,059,123.06. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,128 shares of company stock valued at $70,431,641. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Obermeyer Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 261.0% in the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 8,073 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,394,000 after buying an additional 5,837 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 345.3% during the 2nd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 13,948 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,865,000 after buying an additional 10,816 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 101.5% in the second quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 70,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $29,529,000 after acquiring an additional 35,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Motorola Solutions in the second quarter worth about $333,000. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Company 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.