Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,609,649 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,117 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $49,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRDM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 7,684.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Iridium Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Iridium Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 109.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.36% of the company’s stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 4.5 %

NASDAQ:IRDM opened at $28.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.34. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.14 and a 12-month high of $41.66.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.68 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Iridium Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total value of $1,127,253.45. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This trade represents a 13.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on IRDM shares. BWS Financial reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Iridium Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Iridium Communications Company 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.