Updating Motorola Solutions Inc., BHP Billiton Ltd. (ADRs) and Briggs & Stratton Corp.

Article Excerpt

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $116 (www.motorolasolutions.com) makes specialized communications equipment such as radios for police and fire vehicles. The company has completed its $1 billion acquisition of Avigilon Corp. Based in Vancouver, that firm designs, makes and sells high-definition surveillance systems. Thanks partly to that purchase, the company expects its revenue for all of 2018 to rise 14%. It also expects its earnings to improve from $5.46 a share in 2017 to between $6.70 and $6.85 a share for 2018. The stock trades at 17.1 times the midpoint of that range. However, using acquisitions to expand adds risk. Hold. BHP BILLITON LTD. (ADRs) $48 (www.bhp.com) has agreed to sell its Cerro Colorado copper mine in Chile. The company will receive $230 million plus $40 million from the sale of the mine’s current copper inventory. Depending on future copper prices, BHP could receive additional payments of up to $50 million. Those amounts are small next to BHP’s market cap of $76.5 billion. However, the cash will help the…