---
title: "Nine Motorola Solutions insiders sold $111 million of stock in three days"
description: "SEC filings show nine Motorola Solutions insiders took roughly $111 million out in the three trading days after the November 4 record quarter, selling a stock priced at 42.7 times trailing earnings. The sellers run from the chairman to the chief accountant, and none of the eleven filings carries a Rule 10b5-1 plan indication."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Robotics & Defense"
published: 2026-11-13T16:47:50.208Z
modified: 2026-11-13T16:47:50.208Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/nine-motorola-solutions-insiders-sold-111-million-of-stock-in-three-days
language: en
keywords: "Motorola Solutions, Insider Trading, Form 4, Public Safety"
---

# Nine Motorola Solutions insiders sold $111 million of stock in three days

> SEC filings show nine Motorola Solutions insiders took roughly $111 million out in the three trading days after the November 4 record quarter, selling a stock priced at 42.7 times trailing earnings. The sellers run from the chairman to the chief accountant, and none of the eleven filings carries a Rule 10b5-1 plan indication.

## The headlines caught $15 million of a $111 million week

[Motorola Solutions](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/motorola-solutions) (NYSE: MSI) reached the insider-trading wires three times this week: chairman and chief executive Gregory Brown's $13.15 million sale [1], chief technology officer [Mahesh Saptharishi](https://theinference.org/markets/people/mahesh-saptharishi)'s $1.53 million [2], and human resources chief Kathryn Moore's $571,825 [3]. EDGAR, the SEC's filing database, shows what those notes missed: [eleven Form 4s](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000068505&type=4&dateb=&owner=include&count=40), the notices insiders must file within two business days of a trade, posted on November 10 and 12 [4].

Nine executives sold on 6, November 9 and 10, in tranches that add to about 215,000 shares [4][5][6][7]. At the weighted prices the filings state, that comes to roughly $111 million, and the $13.15 million sale that made the headlines was the smallest of the chief executive's three [4][5][6][7].

*Chart: **Brown took $70.5 million of the $111 million, close to two thirds of the nine sellers' total** Bar chart of gross proceeds by seller for nine Motorola Solutions insiders, November 6 to 10, 2026, in millions of dollars: Brown 70.5, Molloy 21.1, Winkler 8.9, Naik 5.1, Yazdi 2.2, Saptharishi 1.5, Niewiara 1.2, Moore 0.57 and Maher 0.27.*

*Gross proceeds by seller at the weighted prices the filings state, sales of November 6, 9 and 10, 2026, in millions of dollars. Six of the nine exercised options the same day; Yazdi, Saptharishi and Niewiara sold shares they already held. Sources: SEC Form 4 filings. [4][5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]*

## Brown's real take was $70.5 million

Brown exercised performance options struck at $81.37 three mornings running, 70,780 shares on November 6, 40,000 on November 9 and 25,000 on November 10, and sold every share the same day at weighted prices from $508.81 to $529.73 [5][6][7]. At those prices the three days gross about $70.5 million, or $59.5 million net of the $11.0 million exercise cost [5][6][7].

His direct stake never moved: 66,768.95 shares before and after [5][7]. The widely quoted "27.24% decrease" [1] measures the last sale against a base swollen by the 25,000 shares he exercised the same morning [7].

He still holds about 400,000 shares directly and in family trusts, plus 200,000 unexercised options that expire on March 9, 2027 [7].

## From the COO down to the chief accountant

Chief operating officer John Molloy exercised two option grants for 40,982 shares, at strikes of $205.14 and $222.30, and sold every one the same day in nine tranches between $508.84 and $517.11, about $21.1 million [8]. Chief financial officer Jason Winkler sold 17,161 shares for about $8.9 million and kept 11,319 [9]; strategy chief [Rajan Naik](https://theinference.org/markets/people/rajan-naik) took about $5.1 million [10]; chief of staff [Cynthia Yazdi](https://theinference.org/markets/people/cynthia-yazdi) about $2.2 million [11]; Saptharishi $1.5 million [12]; general counsel James Niewiara about $1.2 million [13]; Moore $571,825 [14]; and chief accounting officer Katherine Maher sold 512 shares at $524.14, about $268,000 [15].

## Not one of the eleven filings carried a 10b5-1 plan

Six of the nine, from Brown down to Maher, paired their sales with same-day option exercises; Yazdi, Saptharishi and Niewiara sold stock they already held [5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. None of the eleven filings carries a Rule 10b5-1 plan indication, the checked box that marks sales as pre-scheduled under a plan that shields sellers from insider-trading claims [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].

*Chart: **Every exercised share was sold the same day, and Brown's three exercises dwarf the rest** Bar chart of shares acquired by same-day option exercise, per stated Form 4 filing line, November 6 to 10, 2026; Brown's three exercises of 70,780, 40,000 and 25,000 shares lead nine stated amounts.*

*Shares acquired by same-day option exercise, exactly as stated on each Form 4 exercise line, November 6 to 10, 2026; every exercised share was sold the same day. Yazdi, Saptharishi and Niewiara sold stock they already held and are not shown. Sources: SEC Form 4 filings; wire figure from MarketBeat. [1][5][6][7][8][9][10][14][15]*

## Sold into the strongest order book in company history

The money came out of a stock priced for the boom: $531.19 on November 12, about 3% under its $548.28 fifty-two-week high, an $87.82 billion value at 42.73 times trailing earnings [1] and roughly 30 times the raised full-year guidance of $17.94 to $17.99 a share [17]. The consensus target of $545.70 sits 2.7% above the price [1], and [a Simply Wall St discounted-cash-flow estimate](https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/motorola-solutions-msi-stock-looks-091613257.html) puts fair value substantially below $530.40 [16].

## Sales rose 12% to $3.4 billion; free cash flow fell

The quarter itself was real: November 4 brought sales up 12% to $3.376 billion, record backlog of $16.6 billion up 14% and a $2 billion buyback expansion [17]. Free cash flow fell to $589 million from $733 million [17], the margin squeeze [we tracked on November 6](https://theinference.org/article/motorola-solutions-memory-bill-of-150-million-to-160-million-could-double-in-2027-testing-margin-promises).

*Chart: **Revenue is at a record and free cash flow fell 19.5% in the September quarter** Line chart of Motorola Solutions revenue and free cash flow by quarter from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the third quarter of 2026, in billions of dollars. Revenue rises from $2.849 billion to a record $3.376 billion; free cash flow swings with the seasonal pattern and fell to $0.589 billion in the latest quarter.*

*Revenue and free cash flow, in billions of dollars, by quarter from October 2023 to the quarter ended October 3, 2026, as reported in the company's SEC filings. Source: Motorola Solutions, quarterly figures from its SEC filings. [19]*

Non-GAAP earnings, which exclude one-off charges, rose 16% to $4.69, while GAAP earnings fell 8% to $3.06 on the Silvus earnout, a contingent payment that grows as that acquired business outperforms, and management told [the earnings call](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/motorola-solutions-reports-third-quarter-211000259.html) it expects Silvus to grow about 30% [17][18]. Motorola itself repurchased stock in the quarter at an average of $457.07 [17]; its executives sold a month later at $508 and up.

## The routine case, and what it cannot cover

The routine explanation covers much of it. Trading windows open after earnings, six of the nine were cashing options, and Brown's remaining 200,000 options die on March 9, 2027; an expiry date forces selling regardless of what he thinks of the price [7]. Institutions hold 84.17% of the stock and analysts rate it a Buy [1]. What the record lacks is paperwork: a cluster this size sold on no disclosed schedule leaves whoever buys the shares holding the timing risk.

## The number to watch

Watch Brown's 200,000 options before March 9, 2027 [7], and the filings that follow fourth-quarter results, guided to about 13% revenue growth [17]. A second unscheduled cluster at 43 times earnings turns a trim signal into a pattern; a quiet winter reads as housekeeping [7][17].

## Takeaway

Nine Motorola Solutions insiders sold about $111 million of stock in three days after the November 4 quarter, $70.5 million of it from the chairman and chief executive, and not one of the eleven filings showed a 10b5-1 plan.

## Sources

1. [MarketBeat, Insider Selling: Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) CEO Sells $13,153,500.00 in Stock, 12 November 2026](https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/insider-insider-selling-motorola-solutions-nyse-msi-ceo-sells-1315350000-in-stock-2026-11-12/)
2. [Investing.com India, Motorola Solutions EVP and CTO Mahesh Saptharishi sells $1.53M in stock, 13 November 2026](https://in.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/motorola-solutions-evp-and-cto-mahesh-saptharishi-sells-153m-in-stock-93CH-5702233)
3. [Investing.com, Motorola Solutions SVP human resources sells $571,825 in shares, 13 November 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/insider-trading-news/motorola-solutions-svp-human-resources-sells-571825-in-shares-93CH-5024574)
4. [SEC EDGAR, Motorola Solutions Inc. Form 4 filing list, CIK 0000068505, accessed 13 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000068505&type=4&dateb=&owner=include&count=40)
5. [SEC Form 4, Gregory Q. Brown, Chairman and CEO, transactions of 6 November 2026, filed 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000120123226000019/wk-form4_1794345967.xml)
6. [SEC Form 4, Gregory Q. Brown, Chairman and CEO, transactions of 9 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000120123226000021/wk-form4_1794517691.xml)
7. [SEC Form 4, Gregory Q. Brown, Chairman and CEO, transactions of 10 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000120123226000023/wk-form4_1794518682.xml)
8. [SEC Form 4, John P. Molloy, EVP and COO, transactions of 6 November 2026, filed 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000165659226000008/wk-form4_1794346276.xml)
9. [SEC Form 4, Jason J. Winkler, EVP and CFO, transactions of 6 and 9 November 2026, filed 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000181651126000010/wk-form4_1794346107.xml)
10. [SEC Form 4, Rajan S. Naik, SVP Strategy and Ventures, transactions of 6 November 2026, filed 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000175071426000008/wk-form4_1794346590.xml)
11. [SEC Form 4, Cynthia Yazdi, SVP Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO, transactions of 9 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000175079326000010/wk-form4_1794517949.xml)
12. [SEC Form 4, Mahesh Saptharishi, EVP and CTO, transactions of 9 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000186461226000008/wk-form4_1794517894.xml)
13. [SEC Form 4, James A. Niewiara, SVP General Counsel, transactions of 6 and 9 November 2026, filed 10 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000196363026000012/wk-form4_1794346458.xml)
14. [SEC Form 4, Kathryn A. Moore, SVP Human Resources, transactions of 10 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000204751826000014/wk-form4_1794517851.xml)
15. [SEC Form 4, Katherine A. Maher, CVP and Chief Accounting Officer, transactions of 9 November 2026, filed 12 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/68505/000191400426000010/wk-form4_1794517737.xml)
16. [Yahoo Finance Singapore (Simply Wall St), Motorola Solutions (MSI) Stock Looks Overvalued Even After Strong Cash Flow Growth, 13 November 2026](https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/motorola-solutions-msi-stock-looks-091613257.html)
17. [Motorola Solutions, Third-Quarter 2026 Financial Results, Business Wire via Yahoo Finance, 4 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/motorola-solutions-reports-third-quarter-211000259.html)
18. [Seeking Alpha, Motorola Solutions signals 2027 revenue in the 'ZIP Code of $14.25B' while expecting Silvus to grow ~30%, 4 November 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4666032-motorola-solutions-signals-2027-revenue-in-the-zip-code-of-14_25b-while-expecting-silvus-to)
19. [Motorola Solutions, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 13 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000068505)


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Nine Motorola Solutions insiders sold $111 million of stock in three days — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/nine-motorola-solutions-insiders-sold-111-million-of-stock-in-three-days