EULAV Asset Management Grows Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 166,100 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions makes up approximately 1.8% of EULAV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. EULAV Asset Management’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $76,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,496 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,184 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 661 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE MSI opened at $479.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.25. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $314.84 and a fifty-two week high of $507.82. The stock has a market cap of $80.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $470.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $455.45.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.36. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 251.96%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is a boost from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 47.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSI. Bank of America increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $425.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $430.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.88.

Motorola Solutions Company 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.