Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Coverage Initiated at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $400.00 price objective on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

MSI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Motorola Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a buy rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Motorola Solutions currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $337.25.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

NYSE:MSI opened at $354.91 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $331.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.68. The company has a market cap of $58.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.90. Motorola Solutions has a 52-week low of $269.64 and a 52-week high of $355.39.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.27. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 441.65% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.38 earnings per share. Motorola Solutions’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions will post 11.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.48%.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.30, for a total value of $1,585,919.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,961,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $1,043,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,831,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Motorola Solutions by 971.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 35,228 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,034,000 after buying an additional 31,939 shares during the last quarter. Ariston Services Group purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. Institutional investors own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

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.