HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,216 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,691 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 248,602 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,264,000 after purchasing an additional 57,690 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Iridium Communications by 376.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 43,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 28,119 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,093,223 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,725,000 after acquiring an additional 37,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Iridium Communications

In other news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $29.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $35.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $29.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.43.

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

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.95%.

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.