Jefferies Financial Group Raises Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Price Target to $510.00

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) had its price objective upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $460.00 to $510.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the communications equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MSI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Motorola Solutions from $372.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $466.17.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of MSI opened at $437.31 on Tuesday. Motorola Solutions has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $448.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $407.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $372.43.

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

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Motorola Solutions’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Motorola Solutions 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 transaction of $9,773,887.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,079,557.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Rajan Naik sold 5,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.81, for a total value of $1,971,473.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,939 shares in the company, valued at $3,341,487.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total transaction of $9,773,887.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,079,557.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Motorola Solutions

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSI. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the second quarter worth about $5,021,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $677,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 2.5% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 447,086 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $172,597,000 after buying an additional 10,979 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Motorola Solutions by 23.4% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Motorola Solutions Company 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.