Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Stock: Insider Gregory Brown Sells 40,000 Shares

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) CEO Gregory Brown sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.16, for a total value of $21,006,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 66,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,064,408.04. This represents a 37.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $531.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $472.72 and its 200 day moving average is $445.13. The company has a market cap of $87.87 billion, a PE ratio of 42.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a twelve month low of $359.36 and a twelve month high of $548.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.42 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.26 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 16.54% and a return on equity of 94.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 38.94%.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSI. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.7% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 17.8% in the third quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 632 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.0% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 780 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Recent Motorola Solutions Headlines

Investors following MSI have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: A recent analysis points to strong cash-flow growth, a supportive fundamental signal for Motorola Solutions. Motorola Solutions stock valuation and cash flow analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The same analysis argues MSI still looks overvalued despite that cash-flow growth, suggesting its valuation may limit upside. Motorola Solutions stock valuation and cash flow analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gregory Brown sold 40,000 shares on Nov. 9 and another 25,000 on Nov. 10, leaving him with 66,769 shares directly owned. The sales—alongside separate reports of multimillion-dollar stock sales by other senior executives—could raise investor concerns, though insider sales alone do not establish a negative outlook. Motorola Solutions insider trading report CFO stock sale report COO stock sale report SVP stock sale report

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSI. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $530.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $525.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Northcoast Research upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $510.00 to $525.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $550.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $545.70.

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc. provides communications, software, video security and related services for public safety agencies and commercial and industrial organizations. Its products include two-way radios and land mobile radio systems, dispatch consoles, command center software, video surveillance systems and access control technology. The company’s offerings are designed to help customers coordinate communications, manage incidents and support security operations. Motorola Solutions also provides services such as system integration, maintenance and technical support.