Gregory Brown Sells 52 Shares of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) Stock

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI) CEO Gregory Brown sold 52 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.28, for a total value of $24,142.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,659,168.04. This represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of MSI opened at $481.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $411.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $422.53. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $359.36 and a 12-month high of $492.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.00.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.24. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 110.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Motorola Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $1.21 per share. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Motorola Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSI. Barclays raised their target price on Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $499.00 price objective (up from $443.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Motorola Solutions from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSI. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Motorola Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 81.3% in the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 58 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Motorola Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Motorola Solutions

Here are the key news stories impacting Motorola Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend announced: Motorola declared a $1.21 quarterly dividend (record March 20; pay April 15), implying a ~1.0% yield. Small recurring cash return and signal of capital-return policy stability.
• Negative Sentiment: Large CEO insider selling — Gregory Q. Brown: recent SEC filings show multiple sizable sales, including 50,000 shares (~$23.4M, Feb. 24) and additional blocks on Feb. 25–26 (see filings). These trades reduced his holdings materially and may weigh on sentiment given the scale. CEO 50,000-share sale filing CEO additional sale filing CEO sales filing
• Negative Sentiment: Other insider sales: CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares (~$3.3M) and director Kenneth D. Denman sold 434 shares (~$204k) in late-February filings — further insider supply hitting the market. Cynthia Yazdi filing Kenneth Denman filing
• Negative Sentiment: Press coverage flagged the CEO’s sales (summary article). Media attention on large insider disposal can amplify negative investor reaction even if sales are for diversification or liquidity. Insider selling article

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, Inc is a provider of mission-critical communications and analytics solutions for public safety and commercial customers. The company designs, manufactures and supports a range of communications equipment and software aimed at enabling first responders, government agencies and enterprises to coordinate and operate reliably in high-pressure environments. Its offerings emphasize secure, resilient connectivity and situational awareness for organizations that require dependable voice, data and video communications.

Product lines include land mobile radio (LMR) systems and handheld and vehicle-mounted radios used by police, fire and emergency medical services; broadband push-to-talk and LTE-based solutions; command-and-control center software for incident management and records; and video security and analytics systems.