Acquisitions continue to fuel growth

Article Excerpt

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $165 (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 162.1 million; Market cap: $26.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) makes communications equipment such as radios for police and fire vehicles. Motorola earned $1.28 a share in the first quarter of 2019, up 16.4% from $1.10 a year earlier. Revenue improved 12.9%, to $1.66 billion from $1.47 billion. Those gains were driven by recent acquisitions, including its $445 million purchase of VaaS. That firm makes equipment and artificial intelligence software to scan licence plates and pinpoint the location of a particular vehicle. It also diversifies Motorola’s operations. Excluding new businesses, however, revenue rose just 3.6%. The company expects to earn between $7.60 and $7.72 a share for all of 2019, and the stock trades at 21.5 times the midpoint of that range. That’s a somewhat high p/e in light of its reliance on acquisitions and new government contracts for growth. Motorola Solutions…