Covea Finance Sells 4,785 Shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

Covea Finance lessened its stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 66,845 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,785 shares during the period. Motorola Solutions accounts for about 1.4% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Covea Finance’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $30,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSI. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 32.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,666 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,788,000 after purchasing an additional 12,048 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Motorola Solutions by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 19.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,265 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 19.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 702,664 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $271,268,000 after purchasing an additional 112,738 shares during the period. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSI shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $425.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $430.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $467.00 to $529.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Motorola Solutions from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.88.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE MSI opened at $460.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $478.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $446.78. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $314.08 and a 1 year high of $507.82.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The communications equipment provider reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.36. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 251.96%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.57 EPS for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.09 per share. This is an increase from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is currently 47.75%.

Motorola Solutions Profile

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.