Motorola Solutions (MSI) Competitors

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer CSCO or MSI?

Cisco Systems received 1644 more outperform votes than Motorola Solutions when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 73.04% of users gave Cisco Systems an outperform vote while only 67.57% of users gave Motorola Solutions an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Cisco Systems	Outperform Votes 2444 73.04%	Underperform Votes 902 26.96%
Motorola Solutions	Outperform Votes 800 67.57%	Underperform Votes 384 32.43%

Which has better earnings & valuation, CSCO or MSI?

Cisco Systems has higher revenue and earnings than Motorola Solutions. Cisco Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Motorola Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cisco Systems	$54.18B	4.08	$10.32B	$2.29	24.29
Motorola Solutions	$10.82B	6.56	$1.58B	$9.22	46.09

Which has more volatility and risk, CSCO or MSI?

Cisco Systems has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Motorola Solutions has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in CSCO or MSI?

73.3% of Cisco Systems shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.2% of Motorola Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Cisco Systems shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Motorola Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CSCO or MSI more profitable?

Cisco Systems has a net margin of 16.96% compared to Motorola Solutions' net margin of 14.58%. Motorola Solutions' return on equity of 197.59% beat Cisco Systems' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cisco Systems	16.96%	26.08%	9.65%
Motorola Solutions	14.58%	197.59%	15.81%

Do analysts recommend CSCO or MSI?

Cisco Systems currently has a consensus price target of $64.68, suggesting a potential upside of 16.29%. Motorola Solutions has a consensus price target of $515.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.25%. Given Motorola Solutions' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Motorola Solutions is more favorable than Cisco Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cisco Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
Motorola Solutions	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Does the media refer more to CSCO or MSI?

In the previous week, Motorola Solutions had 5 more articles in the media than Cisco Systems. MarketBeat recorded 52 mentions for Motorola Solutions and 47 mentions for Cisco Systems. Motorola Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.31 beat Cisco Systems' score of 1.16 indicating that Motorola Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cisco Systems	36 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Motorola Solutions	39 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is CSCO or MSI a better dividend stock?

Cisco Systems pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Motorola Solutions pays an annual dividend of $4.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cisco Systems pays out 71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Motorola Solutions pays out 47.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cisco Systems has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Motorola Solutions has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Summary

Motorola Solutions beats Cisco Systems on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.