Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $400.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MSI. StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed 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. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $337.25.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MSI stock opened at $354.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.68. Motorola Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $269.64 and a fifty-two week high of $355.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37.

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

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 39.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,032 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 188 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 275 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 444 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

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.