Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $8.35 Million Position in Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM - Free Report) by 32.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 274,365 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 130,022 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Iridium Communications worth $8,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Iridium Communications by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,269,883 shares of the technology company's stock worth $130,018,000 after acquiring an additional 36,851 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Iridium Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 3,480,051 shares of the technology company's stock worth $92,639,000 after purchasing an additional 152,232 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Iridium Communications by 1.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 33,074 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Iridium Communications by 0.7% in 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 grew its position in Iridium Communications by 26.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BWS Financial reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suzanne E. Mcbride sold 4,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.48, for a total value of $130,301.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 182,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,855.56. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction of $1,127,253.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 254,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,489,277.36. This trade 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.

Iridium Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of IRDM stock traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.02. 750,351 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,072,512. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87 and a beta of 0.65. Iridium Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.14 and a 1-year high of $41.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.29.

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

Iridium Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Iridium Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Iridium Communications announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 19th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 14.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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.