Legal & General Group Plc Sells 28,119 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,423 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 28,119 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.37% of Iridium Communications worth $12,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,829,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $82,099,000 after purchasing an additional 320,506 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,827,580 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $82,028,000 after buying an additional 329,915 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Iridium Communications by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 2,507,715 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,774,000 after buying an additional 134,924 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,213,512 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,125,000 after acquiring an additional 683,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 94.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,735,842 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,374,000 after acquiring an additional 841,951 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Iridium Communications stock opened at $23.83 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.66. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.18 and a 52-week high of $35.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IRDM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

About Iridium Communications

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.