Fmr LLC Buys 198,360 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 942,380 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 198,360 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.83% of Iridium Communications worth $28,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Iridium Communications by 18.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,475,472 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,897,000 after buying an additional 385,872 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the second quarter valued at about $2,323,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Iridium Communications by 19.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 130,370 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 21,522 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Iridium Communications during the first quarter valued at about $1,939,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Iridium Communications by 6,491.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,598,532 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574,280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of IRDM traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $30.84. The company had a trading volume of 893,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,080,813. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56 and a beta of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.21. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.14 and a 52-week high of $41.66.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $212.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. On average, research analysts predict that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

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

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is presently 59.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,388,855.56. This trade represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. The trade was a 13.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

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.