The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stake in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in EchoStar Co. (NASDAQ:SATS) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 841 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in EchoStar were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SATS. Darsana Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in EchoStar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,908,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of EchoStar by 51.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,243,761 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $39,961,000 after acquiring an additional 762,462 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Alternative Capital LP raised its stake in shares of EchoStar by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Alternative Capital LP now owns 1,854,000 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,020,000 after acquiring an additional 354,000 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D acquired a new position in shares of EchoStar during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,830,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in EchoStar by 430.1% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 86,147 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 69,897 shares during the period. 33.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on EchoStar from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James lowered EchoStar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of EchoStar from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of EchoStar from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of EchoStar in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EchoStar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.25.

Insider Transactions at EchoStar

In other news, Chairman Charles W. Ergen bought 1,551,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,499,994.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,551,355 shares in the company, valued at $43,499,994.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 55.90% of the company’s stock.

EchoStar Price Performance

SATS stock opened at $23.73 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.46. EchoStar Co. has a 52-week low of $11.71 and a 52-week high of $30.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a PE ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides networking technologies and services worldwide. The company operates in four segments: Pay-TV, Retail Wireless, 5G Network Deployment, Broadband and Satellite Services. The Pay-TV segment offers a direct broadcast and fixed satellite services; designs, develops, and distributes receiver system; and provides digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission and, other services to third-party pay-TV providers; and multichannel, live-linear and on-demand streaming over-the-top internet-based domestic, international, Latino, and Freestream video programming services under the DISH and SLING brand names.