JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Price Target to $515.00

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $570.00 to $515.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the communications equipment provider's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $529.00 to $527.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.25.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

MSI stock traded up $6.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $418.88. 269,862 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 774,305. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $424.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $456.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Motorola Solutions has a twelve month low of $332.98 and a twelve month high of $507.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.94.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.85 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 197.59% and a net margin of 14.58%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Motorola Solutions will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,179,834 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $9,789,955,000 after acquiring an additional 310,919 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,187,217 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,933,360,000 after buying an additional 451,172 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,528,949,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,030,915 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $1,400,980,000 after acquiring an additional 334,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,073,645,000. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.