Strs Ohio Trims Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,827 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,296 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.07% of Motorola Solutions worth $34,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,032 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 21.3% in 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 holdings in Motorola Solutions by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 275 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 444 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,301 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $338.58 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.64 and a 12 month high of $355.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $338.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.27. The company has a market cap of $56.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.30, for a total value of $1,585,919.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MSI. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.38.

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.