Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $400.00 price target on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

MSI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They set a buy rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Motorola Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $333.00 to $352.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Friday, February 9th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $337.25.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 1.6 %

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $353.31 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.39. The company has a market cap of $58.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.90. Motorola Solutions has a 52-week low of $269.64 and a 52-week high of $353.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 441.65% and a net margin of 17.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Motorola Solutions will post 11.74 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 39.48%.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In other news, SVP Cynthia Yazdi sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.30, for a total transaction of $1,585,919.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,961,229.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,918 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 11,087 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,870 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 1st quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,177 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $13,362,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741 shares during the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.