Topic: Growth Stocks

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $50 – New York symbol MSI

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC. $50 (New York symbol MSI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 325.5 million; Market cap: $16.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.motorolasolutions.com) took its current form on January 4, 2011, following the breakup of the old Motorola Inc. The company makes specialized equipment, including bar-code scanners and radios for emergency vehicles. Governments supply 65% of its revenue; the remaining 35% comes from businesses.

In 2011, Motorola Solutions earned $888 million, or $2.61 a share. That’s up 42.5% from $623 million, or $1.84 a share, in 2010. These figures exclude several unusual items, mainly costs related to the spinoff from Motorola Inc. Sales rose 7.7%, to $8.2 billion from $7.6 billion.

The company’s sales will likely rise by just 5% in 2012, due to slowing demand for its current wireless networking equipment and government budget cuts. However, Motorola Solutions continues to devote nearly 13% of its sales to research. This is helping it develop new products that take advantage of faster wireless technologies.

The stock has gained 35% since the spinoff. It now trades at a reasonable 18.8 times its projected 2012 earnings of $2.66 a share. The $0.88 dividend yields 1.8%.

Motorola Solutions is a buy.

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