Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,712 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSI. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter worth approximately $339,283,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 67.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,193,146 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $324,614,000 after purchasing an additional 482,023 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,388,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1,208.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 191,611 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,991,000 after purchasing an additional 176,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 61.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 333,697 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $90,846,000 after purchasing an additional 126,517 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,961,229.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:MSI opened at $358.02 on Wednesday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.64 and a 12 month high of $358.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16. The company has a market capitalization of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.25, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.91.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 398.16%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 11.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors 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 1.09%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $355.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, March 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.43.

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.