AIA Group Ltd Increases Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,504 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $2,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSI. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,531,492 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,008,362,000 after acquiring an additional 119,907 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,337,453 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $978,808,000 after buying an additional 60,733 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,350,325 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $639,853,000 after buying an additional 37,718 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,155,597 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $674,896,000 after acquiring an additional 96,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 0.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,006,858 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $546,347,000 after acquiring an additional 8,514 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSI. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research report on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MSI traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $340.29. The company had a trading volume of 252,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,187. The company has a market capitalization of $56.53 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.90. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.64 and a 1-year high of $355.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 17.12% and a return on equity of 441.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.38 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.48%.

Motorola Solutions 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.