Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 498.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,142 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,091 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Iridium Communications worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Iridium Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Iridium Communications by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.53, for a total transaction of $356,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IRDM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th.

Iridium Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $27.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $35.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.70.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $212.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. As a group, analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.