Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,477 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,938 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $14,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 967,604 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $435,064,000 after purchasing an additional 965,972 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $395,298,000 after purchasing an additional 699,615 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 38,505.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 696,434 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $268,858,000 after purchasing an additional 694,630 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 428.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 501,601 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $193,798,000 after purchasing an additional 406,638 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1,477.3% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 358,206 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $127,149,000 after purchasing an additional 335,496 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSI shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $493.43.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Shares of MSI traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $497.45. 748,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 669,851. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $455.77 and a 200-day moving average of $411.01. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a one year low of $307.09 and a one year high of $507.82. The firm has a market cap of $83.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.10, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.76 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 310.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.94%.

Motorola Solutions 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.