New Century Financial Group LLC Lowers Position in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI)

New Century Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,011 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,454,643 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,358,848,000 after buying an additional 198,183 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,736,045 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,675,588,000 after acquiring an additional 89,320 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 7.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,530,660 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,911,000 after acquiring an additional 110,072 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 59,189.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 967,604 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $435,064,000 after purchasing an additional 965,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 900,171 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $404,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:MSI opened at $475.78 on Friday. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $314.84 and a 1-year high of $507.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.68. The firm has a market cap of $79.51 billion, a PE ratio of 52.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.23, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Motorola Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. This is a positive change from Motorola Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.