Geode Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,085,878 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 33,822 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.83% of Iridium Communications worth $63,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at about $342,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 109.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Iridium Communications by 23.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 266,414 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,092,000 after acquiring an additional 50,953 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 322.1% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,735 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM opened at $29.21 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.14 and a 1 year high of $41.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.