Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $139.31 Million Stock Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. $MSI

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 363,432 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,228 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $139,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSI. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 5.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,386,519 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,292,310,000 after buying an additional 490,354 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 29,701 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,462,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 180.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 19,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $9,100,000 after purchasing an additional 12,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 15,802 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $7,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,459 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 1.1%

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $433.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $451.32 and a 200-day moving average of $417.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $359.36 and a twelve month high of $492.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.93.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 15.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of Motorola Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total value of $3,297,070.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,488,254.29. This trade represents a 42.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.09, for a total value of $23,404,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 47,167 shares in the company, valued at $22,078,401.03. The trade was a 51.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 129,069 shares of company stock worth $60,779,964. 1.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSI shares. Weiss Ratings raised Motorola Solutions from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $540.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $499.00 price target (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $502.50.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc is a provider of mission-critical communications and analytics solutions for public safety and commercial customers. The company designs, manufactures and supports a range of communications equipment and software aimed at enabling first responders, government agencies and enterprises to coordinate and operate reliably in high-pressure environments. Its offerings emphasize secure, resilient connectivity and situational awareness for organizations that require dependable voice, data and video communications.

Product lines include land mobile radio (LMR) systems and handheld and vehicle-mounted radios used by police, fire and emergency medical services; broadband push-to-talk and LTE-based solutions; command-and-control center software for incident management and records; and video security and analytics systems.