Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $504.88.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $425.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $430.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSI. State Street Corp grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 2.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,454,643 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $3,358,848,000 after acquiring an additional 198,183 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,736,045 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,675,588,000 after purchasing an additional 89,320 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,530,660 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $590,911,000 after purchasing an additional 110,072 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% in 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 900,171 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $404,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI traded up $2.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $465.23. The company had a trading volume of 621,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 707,306. Motorola Solutions has a 12 month low of $314.84 and a 12 month high of $507.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $446.98.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 251.96%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.09 per share. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.75%.

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.