Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,749 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $9,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the first quarter worth $35,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the second quarter worth $35,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, March 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.38.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

MSI opened at $340.59 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $338.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The company has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.90. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $269.64 and a 12-month high of $355.39.

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

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

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

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.