Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 13,194 Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,194 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,548,000.

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

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MSI opened at $368.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $432.68 and its 200 day moving average is $433.26. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $365.75 and a fifty-two week high of $503.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 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 business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.74 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $1.21 dividend. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Motorola Solutions news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total transaction of $3,802,242.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,265.80. This represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.43, for a total value of $825,231.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,059,123.06. The trade was a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 110,614 shares of company stock valued at $53,085,917 over the last ninety days. 1.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSI shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $509.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $465.00 price objective (down previously from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, October 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.43.

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.