Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Stock Position Decreased by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 248,089 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,916 shares during the quarter. Motorola Solutions makes up about 2.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned approximately 0.15% of Motorola Solutions worth $111,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSI. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,319,631 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $895,494,000 after buying an additional 82,044 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,530,660 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,911,000 after acquiring an additional 110,072 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $395,298,000 after acquiring an additional 699,615 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 993,689 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $383,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 967,604 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $435,064,000 after purchasing an additional 965,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSI. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $425.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $493.43.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI traded up $6.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $495.30. 111,577 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 673,265. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $307.09 and a 12 month high of $507.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $466.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.19. The firm has a market cap of $82.78 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.97.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 251.96%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.09 dividend. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 47.75%.

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.