Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $5.82 Million Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 62.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,700 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 357,999 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.18% of Iridium Communications worth $5,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,085 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 34.4% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 11,946 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 3,056 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Iridium Communications by 429.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 334,396 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,902,000 after purchasing an additional 271,203 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 4.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $30.04 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.05 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.14 and a 12 month high of $47.02.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $201.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.01 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 11.08%. Iridium Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 266.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IRDM. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

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.