Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 83.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,906 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,212 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.05% of Motorola Solutions worth $29,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 96 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Motco now owns 95 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 2,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.68, for a total value of $927,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,138 shares in the company, valued at $403,625.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Motorola Solutions news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.11, for a total transaction of $257,445.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,488.51. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Katherine A. Maher sold 2,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $354.68, for a total transaction of $927,488.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,138 shares in the company, valued at $403,625.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,389 shares of company stock worth $3,446,461. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 2.1 %

MSI traded up $8.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $393.71. 408,125 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 595,419. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $399.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $380.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.84. The firm has a market cap of $65.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The communications equipment provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 398.16%. As a group, analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $400.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $374.57.

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.