Bank of America Raises Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Price Target to $440.00

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

MSI has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Monday, March 25th. They issued an outperform rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $362.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Motorola Solutions currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $374.57.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of MSI opened at $390.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.23, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.94. Motorola Solutions has a 12 month low of $269.64 and a 12 month high of $398.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $377.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $350.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.16.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 398.16%. Research analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 810 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $358.09, for a total value of $290,052.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,650,156.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 5,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.81, for a total transaction of $1,971,473.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,939 shares in the company, valued at $3,341,487.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James A. Niewiara sold 810 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.09, for a total value of $290,052.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,650,156.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,389 shares of company stock valued at $3,446,461 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $646,341,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $339,283,000. Swedbank AB grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,361,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1,477.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 358,206 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,149,000 after buying an additional 335,496 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.