Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 21,857 Shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 143,049 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 21,857 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.13% of Iridium Communications worth $4,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Iridium Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,750 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,389 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 11,480 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 25.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,796 shares of the technology company's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Iridium Communications Price Performance

IRDM traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.78. 290,234 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,804. Iridium Communications Inc. has a one year low of $24.14 and a one year high of $41.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.23. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $212.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.68 million. Iridium Communications had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 14.09%. As a group, 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 authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Activity at Iridium Communications

In other Iridium Communications news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of Iridium Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total transaction of $130,301.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 182,797 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.39, for a total transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 254,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,489,277.36. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Iridium Communications in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

Iridium Communications 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.