Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) CEO Cynthia Yazdi Sells 7,000 Shares

by · The Markets Daily

Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI – Get Free Report) CEO Cynthia Yazdi sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.01, for a total transaction of $3,297,070.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,488,254.29. The trade was a 42.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Motorola Solutions Trading Up 2.0%

MSI traded up $9.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $481.37. 1,461,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,206,376. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $408.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.73. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 1-year low of $359.36 and a 1-year high of $492.22. The company has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

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

Motorola Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is currently 37.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $515.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Motorola Solutions from $495.00 to $506.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Motorola Solutions from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded Motorola Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. 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 research report on Monday, December 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $497.14.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions News Roundup

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Motorola Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Motorola Solutions by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,171,959 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $10,139,015,000 after buying an additional 286,366 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.5% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,386,519 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,292,310,000 after purchasing an additional 490,354 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,681,622 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $3,237,985,000 after purchasing an additional 101,408 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Motorola Solutions by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,386,899 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,839,569,000 after purchasing an additional 51,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Motorola Solutions by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,433,482 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,570,096,000 after buying an additional 31,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.17% of the company’s stock.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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