Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,508,546 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,074 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $76,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 10.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 231,976 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,068,000 after acquiring an additional 21,769 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 299.4% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 21,953 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 16,457 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,090,326 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $316,283,000 after buying an additional 336,989 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iridium Communications in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 1,033.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,791 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In related news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Iridium Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.54 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $41.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 59.58%.

Iridium Communications Company Profile

Iridium Communications Inc provides mobile voice and data communications services and products to businesses, the United States and international governments, non-governmental organizations, and consumers worldwide. The company offers postpaid mobile voice and data satellite communications; prepaid mobile voice satellite communications; push-to-talk; broadband data; and Internet of Things (IoT) services.