Geode Capital Management LLC Has $63.53 Million Stock Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,085,878 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 33,822 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.83% of Iridium Communications worth $63,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IRDM. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,269,883 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $130,018,000 after purchasing an additional 36,851 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 3,480,051 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $92,639,000 after buying an additional 152,232 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Iridium Communications by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,508,546 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $76,385,000 after buying an additional 33,074 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Iridium Communications by 0.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,609,649 shares of the technology company's stock worth $49,014,000 after buying an additional 11,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 26.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 942,380 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,695,000 after buying an additional 198,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BWS Financial reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Iridium Communications in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Niehaus sold 38,355 shares of Iridium Communications 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. The trade was a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Iridium Communications Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:IRDM traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.21. 2,788,931 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,083,114. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Iridium Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.14 and a fifty-two week high of $41.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The technology company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.01. The company 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 expect that Iridium Communications Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Iridium Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 1.92%. Iridium Communications's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Iridium Communications declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.