Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.04, but opened at $88.30. Iron Mountain shares last traded at $84.46, with a volume of 205,382 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on IRM. StockNews.com downgraded Iron Mountain from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Iron Mountain from $125.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut their target price on Iron Mountain from $130.00 to $118.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Iron Mountain from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Iron Mountain presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.67.

Iron Mountain Trading Down 5.7 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 136.17, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.04.

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Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.70). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Iron Mountain had a negative return on equity of 401.83% and a net margin of 2.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Iron Mountain Incorporated will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Iron Mountain Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.785 per share. This is a positive change from Iron Mountain's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Iron Mountain's dividend payout ratio is currently 514.75%.

Insider Activity at Iron Mountain

In other news, CEO William L. Meaney sold 69,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.83, for a total transaction of $6,900,748.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mithu Bhargava sold 1,738 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.84, for a total value of $161,355.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,211,933.36. This represents a 11.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,848 shares of company stock worth $23,418,519 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Iron Mountain

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Iron Mountain by 25,100.0% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Iron Mountain in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Iron Mountain during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Iron Mountain in the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Iron Mountain by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.13% of the company's stock.

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated NYSE: IRM is a global leader in information management services. Founded in 1951 and trusted by more than 240,000 customers worldwide, Iron Mountain serves to protect and elevate the power of our customers' work. Through a range of offerings including digital transformation, data centers, secure records storage, information management, asset lifecycle management, secure destruction and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps businesses bring light to their dark data, enabling customers to unlock value and intelligence from their stored digital and physical assets at speed and with security, while helping them meet their environmental goals.