Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI - Free Report) by 136.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,904 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,289 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $4,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MSI. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,319,631 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $895,494,000 after purchasing an additional 82,044 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 215.7% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,023,956 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $395,298,000 after purchasing an additional 699,615 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 993,689 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $383,614,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $435,064,000 after acquiring an additional 965,972 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MSI traded up $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $497.83. 697,142 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 675,668. The company has a 50-day moving average of $473.47 and a 200-day moving average of $426.90. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.09 and a 52-week high of $507.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.36. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 251.96% and a net margin of 14.65%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.09 dividend. This is a positive change from Motorola Solutions's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Motorola Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.29.

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.