ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 1.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,386 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 769 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $20,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Motorola Solutions by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 5,786 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 3.3% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 62,771 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Motorola Solutions by 12.2% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 68,760 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $26,545,000 after buying an additional 7,481 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Motorola Solutions Price Performance

Motorola Solutions stock opened at $447.09 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $382.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.20. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.64 and a 1 year high of $448.98. The company has a market capitalization of $74.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.97.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The communications equipment provider reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John P. Molloy sold 23,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.50, for a total value of $9,773,887.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 46,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,079,557.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MSI shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $370.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Motorola Solutions from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $385.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $466.17.

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.