606,938 Shares in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 606,938 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,613,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of IRDM stock opened at $27.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.38. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.14 and a fifty-two week high of $35.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. The business had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.95%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total value of $356,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 241,030 shares in the company, valued at $6,876,585.90. This trade represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IRDM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Iridium Communications in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Iridium Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

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.