Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Position Raised by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) by 498.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 66,142 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 55,091 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Iridium Communications were worth $1,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,162 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 84.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

Shares of IRDM opened at $27.55 on Friday. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.73. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $35.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.42 and its 200-day moving average is $29.37.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $212.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.78 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 13.58%. Equities analysts anticipate that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 58.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on IRDM shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Iridium Communications in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Iridium Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Iridium Communications from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,876,585.90. The trade was a 4.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.