Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI Stock: William Blair Investment Management LLC Increases Position

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,608 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,842 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $20,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 6,484 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 9.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,993 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 15.5% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 10,289 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.9% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 4,060 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 253.2% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,049 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MSI traded up $1.10 on Friday, reaching $531.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 662,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,803. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $359.36 and a 12-month high of $548.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. The firm has a market cap of $87.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $472.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.13.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.42 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 94.49% and a net margin of 16.54%. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.94%.

Latest Motorola Solutions News

Investors following MSI have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: A recent analysis points to strong cash-flow growth, a supportive fundamental signal for Motorola Solutions. Motorola Solutions stock valuation and cash flow analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The same analysis argues MSI still looks overvalued despite that cash-flow growth, suggesting its valuation may limit upside. Motorola Solutions stock valuation and cash flow analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gregory Brown sold 40,000 shares on Nov. 9 and another 25,000 on Nov. 10, leaving him with 66,769 shares directly owned. The sales—alongside separate reports of multimillion-dollar stock sales by other senior executives—could raise investor concerns, though insider sales alone do not establish a negative outlook. Motorola Solutions insider trading report CFO stock sale report COO stock sale report SVP stock sale report

Insider Activity at Motorola Solutions

In other news, CFO Jason J. Winkler sold 9,609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $513.06, for a total value of $4,929,993.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,807,326.14. This represents a 45.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 40,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.45, for a total transaction of $21,083,189.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 69,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,666,818.50. This represents a 37.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 221,418 shares of company stock valued at $114,247,736 over the last quarter. 1.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $525.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $545.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $529.00 to $598.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $476.00 price target (up from $470.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $545.70.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides communications, software, video security and related services for public safety agencies and commercial and industrial organizations. Its products include two-way radios and land mobile radio systems, dispatch consoles, command center software, video surveillance systems and access control technology. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers coordinate communications, manage incidents and support security operations. Motorola Solutions also provides services such as system integration, maintenance and technical support.