Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.98

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 26th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.98 per share by the communications equipment provider on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th.

Motorola Solutions has increased its dividend by an average of 11.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Motorola Solutions has a payout ratio of 27.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Motorola Solutions to earn $13.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

Motorola Solutions Stock Down 0.5 %

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $435.90 on Thursday. Motorola Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $269.64 and a fifty-two week high of $448.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.88, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $411.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.83.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.23. Motorola Solutions had a return on equity of 337.36% and a net margin of 14.04%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions will post 12.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Motorola Solutions

In related news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total value of $9,773,887.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares in the company, valued at $19,079,557.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $372.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $436.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.17.

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.