Thomas Fitzpatrick Sells 12,500 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Stock

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) Director Thomas Fitzpatrick sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Iridium Communications Stock Performance

NASDAQ IRDM opened at $27.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.50. Iridium Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.14 and a twelve month high of $38.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a net margin of 14.09% and a return on equity of 14.34%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. Iridium Communications’s payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Institutional Trading of Iridium Communications

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter worth about $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Iridium Communications by 25.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Iridium Communications during the third quarter worth about $226,000. 84.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.