Iridium Communications Inc $IRDM Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 808,392 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 41,644 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $14,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 48,325 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,985 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,243.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 40,479 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 37,465 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 232,231 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,345,000 after acquiring an additional 33,191 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter worth $218,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 539,566 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,741,000 after acquiring an additional 75,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 1.0%

Iridium Communications stock opened at $51.78 on Friday. Iridium Communications Inc has a fifty-two week low of $15.65 and a fifty-two week high of $52.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.74, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 52.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.79.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Iridium Communications had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 22.76%. The company had revenue of $219.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IRDM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $25.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BWS Financial restated a “sell” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Iridium Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Iridium Communications news, CAO Timothy Kapalka sold 3,790 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $117,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,480,684. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Iridium Communications Profile

Iridium Communications Inc operates a global satellite communications network that delivers voice and data services across land, sea and air. The company’s unique architecture relies on a constellation of 66 low-Earth orbit satellites, enabling real-time connectivity in regions beyond the reach of terrestrial wireless networks. Iridium’s core offerings include satellite voice and messaging services, broadband data terminals, push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Iridium serves a diverse range of markets, including maritime shipping, aviation, government and defense, energy, and enterprise.