Marshall Wace LLP Acquires New Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 8,191 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.2% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 30,459 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 4.1% in the second quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 17,925 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Iridium Communications by 109.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Iridium Communications by 0.7% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 109,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,903,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iridium Communications Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $29.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.80. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.14 and a 52 week high of $44.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 140.71 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 266.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRDM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Iridium Communications 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.