AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 98,434 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

AQR Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,949 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 98,434 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Iridium Communications worth $6,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $913,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 427.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 72,626 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after acquiring an additional 58,860 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Iridium Communications by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 231,976 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,068,000 after purchasing an additional 21,769 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Iridium Communications by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,089,600 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $54,664,000 after purchasing an additional 346,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $544,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of IRDM opened at $31.61 on Friday. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.14 and a fifty-two week high of $45.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 150.43 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.25.

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

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is 266.67%.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 19th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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